Holiday Make Up Wishlist

Christmas season is a great one in the world of beauty products. Most brand have or are coming out with amazing holiday gift sets and palettes that all girls are lusting over. I think this year has been especially great with sets and palettes from Benefit, Nars and Too Faced. I thought it would be fun to share with you the palettes and gift sets I have been lusting over. I really want to try and get my hands on a few of these but exams are killing me at the moment. Let me know if you have tried any of these out or if you are also lusting over them!

Holiday Make Up Wishlist by rena-blank featuring Stila Beauty product / Nars cosmetic / Stila eyeshadow / Rose blush

1) Stila In The Garden Palette: This one isn't a holiday palette but I really want it so it felt right to include it. I already own the In The Light and In The Know palettes by Stila and I am in love with them. Not only are the colors amazing but Stila shadows also have great pigment and color pay off. They are honestly my most used palettes. However, Ulta and Sephora don't seem to carry these palettes anymore! I know Stila came out with new palettes but I really hope they didn't get rid of these palettes because they are amazing. Maybe I can find them online! 

2) Nars Virtual Domination Cheek Palette: This is one of Nars Limited Edition Holiday Palettes. Can we please note how pretty the packaging is?! I think Nars does a great job keeping thing sleek but still beautiful for the holiday time. This palette comes with my favorite bronzer Laguna, three blushes in Deep Throat, Final Cut and Sex Fantasy and a highlighter color in Miss Liberty. The palette is a little pricey at 65 dollars but when you think about it, Laguna alone is 38 dollars and each blush is 30 dollars. In this palette, you are getting six different products for less than buying just the bronzer and one blush. 

3) Bite Beauty Best Bite Remix: This is a mini gift set from Bite Beauty. Bite Beauty is a cruelty free cosmetics brand that specializes in lip products. This gift set comes with four mini high pigmented jumbo lip pencils in Sablé (nude), Pomegranate (rose berry), Rhubard (plum rose), Winterberry (festive Raspberry red). It is currently sold out at Sephora but normally it sells for 25 dollars. This set is great because you get to test out a nice range of colors for a great price. 

4) Lorac Mega Pro Palette: This is the ultimate palette with 32 dollars with all the basic colors and some amazing unique colors too. This palette is sold out everywhere but it is so nice to look at. Lorac shadows are super pigmented, smooth and long wearing. It is selling for ridiculous prices on eBay right now but if you can find it in store I would definitely get a hold on it! 

5) Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Powder: This is definitely the palette I have been lusting over the most. Benefit always does amazing holiday gift sets and this year I think they out did themselves. The Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Powder is a palette if Benefit's best selling blushes. As you all probably already know, Benefit does some amazing great blushes. The colors are amazing and so is the color pay off. This palette has 5 blushes in  Dandelion, CORAlista, Bella Bamba, Rockateur and Sugarbomb. There is also Benefit's oh so popular bronzer in Hoola and a cream highlighter in Watt's Up. This palette is sold out on the Benefit website but hopefully it will be back soon! It sales for 36 dollars which is such a deal!

6) Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things Palette: This is a Sephora exclusive palette from Too Faced. This palette is the perfect travel palette because it comes with 20 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, 2 bronzers, a mini Better than Sex Mascara, a Lip Injection Color Bomb in Bee Sting and a how to guide. This palette sells for 56 dollars and personally, for all the products in it, I think this is the best deal out of all the bunch. This pretty much can be your entire make up bag! The eyeshadow colors in this palette are amazing. They included everything from nice natural mattes to party shimmery colors! Highly suggestion checking this out next time you guys are in Sephora! 

What gift sets and palettes are you lusting over this holiday season?

lots of love, 
Rena 

Winterize Your Nails

Happy December Everyone! I am so excited for winter to official be here. There is nothing better than cuddling up with a blanket while drinking a hot chocolate watching snow fall down. Seriously, I love winter. I was contacted by the lovely people at Julep and asked if I would like to take part in coming up with some tips to winterize your nails. I was super excited because well no one likes sad nails and Julep is an awesome company. They were kind enough in sharing their tips with me which I am more than happy to share with your guys and I have come up with some of my own ways! I hope you guys enjoy.

1)  Moisture: My favorite tip from Julep is to moisture often! New Jersey winter is no joke with the cold air and even colder winds. There is nothing worse than having dry hands and cuticles. Not only is it uncomfortable but also it can be painful. Julep suggestions using their Mighty Nail and Cuticle Serum. Some other things I use to moisture is Rose Salve. Rose Salve is great because it is in a small tin and can be used on your lips, hands, cuticle and pretty much anything else that is dry.

2) Paint: Winter is the perfect time to try out new nail trends. I feel like spring and summer are always the same bright neon colors but in the winter, you can show off your darker side. I love painting my nails festive colors such as red, gold, and maroon. I also love the look of matte nails for the winter. Julep shared with me some of their hot colors from the winter and oh my gosh! how pretty is Sawyer?! It is actually the perfect color for the holiday season. You can check out all their awesome colors on their nail polish color page

3) Treat Yourself: I think it is important to treat yourself in the winter and go get a nice manicure. I don't know about you but I am really bad at buffing and shaping my own nails. So I think it is nice to get them done every once in a while to make sure they are in their best shape. Nothing is more relaxing than getting a manicure. 

What do you do to winterize your nails? 

lots of love, 

Rena 

September Favorites

Hi Everyone! 

I hope everyone is having a good school year so far. It is only the fifth week and I'm already super stressed out. However, being stressed out hasn't stopped me for loving some beauty bits and pieces this month. Here are my September favorites. Let me know what you have been loving! 

First off, is a candle that reminds me so much of summer. This is the Turquoise Waters candle from Bath and Body Works. The scent is described as sea spray, sunlight and beach grass and let me tell you, that is exactly what this smells like. It really reminds me of the beach at Cape Cod. I also love the turquoise glass jar it comes in. I am excited to clean it out and use it for my make up brushes or lip glosses after I finish this candle. 

Next is another Bath and Body Works product. I think I've taken a few too many trips in there over the past few months. This is from the aromatherapy line by Bath and Body Works. It is the Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint Sugar Scrub. That was actually a mouth full to type. I adore anything mint scent; it is one of my favorite smells. The mint smell is very relaxing. This sugar scrub is really different from any other I've ever tried. I think this is because it is essential oil based so it is super smooth. It leaves my skin feeling so soft and nourished. The sugar in this is also on a thicker side which I prefer. You definitely have to make sure you wash it all off so you're not left greasy though. The sin this is also on a thicker side which I prefer.  I don't know if this is actually helping me relief stress but it is definitely making my shower very luxurious. 

Surprise! Another  product from Bath and Body Works. This is the last one I promise. This product has been a life changer. I kid you not. This is the C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve. It has reached the point that I can't leave my house without this. I use this as chapstick and on any dry patches. I really like how natural this smells. I love fruity lip glosses but I feel like my chapstick needs to smell clean and fresh. This smells like a bunch of roses which is amazing. This also leaves my lips soft and slightly glossy and feeling pretty. I highly advice anyone with very dry lips to try this out. 

Last of the skin products is the Simple Replenishing Rich Moisturizer. I like this because it is odorless, greaseless and dyeless. This stuff gets the job done and doesn't break out my skin. I find that  face lotions filled with perfumes and oils tend to break me out. But this stuff has been very effective at making my skin hydrated and smooth without breaking me out. I don't think I could ask for anything more from a face moisturizer. 

Finally, here are a few make up pieces! First is the Maybelline The Elixir in 60 Nude Illusion. I have found myself reaching for this a lot since I bought it at the end of August. I love this over Rimmel's Nude Delight (my favorite nude!) and just on its own. The finish is a lovely satiny true nude color. This stuff isn't overly shiny but it definitely has a nice glossy finish. It also lasts a decently long time. Overall, it is super easy to wear and very inexpensive. Next, is a mascara I forgot I owned but am so happy I rediscovered. It is the Make Up Forever Smokey Extravagant Mascara. I only have the small travel size which is why I probably forgot about it. I think I got as a reward from Sephora. The brush on this thing is amazing! It gives you such full voluminous lashes. I am definitely going to do a full review on this asap with pictures of before and after application. lastly, is an oldy but a goodie. This is probably the best liquid liner I've ever used. I have tried many but none have ever come close to my Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner. Once you apply this, it isn't going anywhere. I been loving using this liner with the smokey extravagant mascara for a classic winged liner with full lashes look. 

Let me know what you've been loving this lovely September month. I am super excited for October! I love the cooler weather because it means I can pull out all my sweaters and boots! Can't wait to wear dark lipsticks.

Lots of love,
Rena

Katy Perry Concert Make Up && Outfit

Hello Everyone!

I hope you've all been having a great summer while I took a little break from blogging. I couldn't really decide where I wanted my blog to go - more reviews, more fotd, tutorials or what not. I decided I want to push myself more with more tutorials (maybe start a youtube channel) and fotd as well as stepping by my photographs. Hopefully, I can stick to this through this coming up school year. I can't believe I start classes in less than a month. Anyways, let's get down to business.

 Last week, my lovely friend Rikki invited me to go to a Katy Perry Concert with her and two other of our friends, Linnie and Jolie. Never did I expect us to be less than ten feet away from the stage! Katy Perry is an absolutely amazing performer and such a lovely singer. Today, I am going to share with you the make up  and outfit I wore to the concert. Forgive me, but I don't remember the exact products I used. For the eyes, I did a neutral base and then used a matte brown to smoke it out a bit. I decided that purple was going to be my color of choice that night so I added a bright purple into the inner corner of my eye as well as a bit in the inner third of my lid. I then used the same purple on the outer two thirds of my lower lash line. I then used kitten by Stila in the inner third of my lower lash line. I added a thin liquid black line and a few coats of mascara. Lastly, I added a cherry red lip and a little bit of glitter over kitten right before the concert. This is what it turned out like! I really liked this look. I thought it was super fun and very Katy Perry.  As for my outfit, I went pretty simple with a pair of high waisted shorts from Forever 21, a flawy navy blue top that I got from Rikki's mom (Thanks Gayle!), my fairy shoes from Steve Madden, a bright blue heart necklace and a purple flower hairband I made last summer.

Lots of Love, 

Rena