Tag Archives: beauty

Natural Beauty Never Goes Out of Style

Makeup trends come and go but feeling beautiful inside and out has no expiration date. Neutrogena’s latest beauty and skincare line was created to make women look and feel beautiful, and it does so by focusing on natural-looking makeup and skincare products that are feminine and fresh.

Cleansing Made Easy 

How much thought do you put into your daily beauty regimen? Honestly, one of the things that I admittedly hate doing is washing my face at night before bed. I do it because I obviously need to clean my makeup off, but it’s easy to get lazy with it if you’re already sleepy. Who really wants to splash water on their face, which will inevitably wake you up? So you can imagine my delight when I tried Neutrogena’s Make-Up Remover Cleansing Towelettes. Super soft to the skin, these cloths gently remove all makeup (yes, even waterproof mascara) without making your eyes sting. Contact lens wearers, even you guys are safe to use these. I know how squeamish people can get about the sensitive area around their eyes, but these towelettes are the real deal.

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But what about the rest of your face? Dirt and oil, beware! Neutrogena’s Oil-Free Pink Grapefruit Cleansing Wipes not only smell amazing but are also great for acne-prone skin. It’s so easy… simply weep away pore-clogging impurities without having to rinse your face after. My favorite part is that I don’t have to lose any sleep (ha!) AND I’m left with a fab, tingly, squeaky-clean feeling on my face right before I head off to dream land. I may never wash my face with water and face wash again… at least not before bedtime!

Fighting UV Rays

Skin cancer is nothing to joke about, and we should all be wearing some sort of sun protection in our daily lives. In the past, I’ve neglected to wear sunscreen on my face for fear of it causing my face to become more oily than necessary and to avoid future breakouts. But Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock (SPF 45) has put that fear to rest. Its incredibly light, clean feel is non-greasy and left my skin feeling soft and smooth all day. It also has a really light, fresh scent which won’t interfere with any other fragrance you may be wearing. And don’t worry about wearing it with the rest of your makeup–it will just enhance your makeup routine.

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Prepping the Blank Canvas

I usually have a hard time finding foundation that matches my skin tone perfectly, and I suspect this may be a universal problem. My other issue with foundation is that it can often leave your skin looking “caky”… you know, that really made-up look that doesn’t end up looking natural at all. So I tend to stay away from foundation unless I really need to cover up a blemish, which, what do ya know, I had to do this past week.

Neutrogena’s collection offers an easy three-step solution. First, I used the brand’s Shine Control Primer. Let me just say, I was skeptical. I had never used a primer for foundation before and wasn’t sure how my skin would react to moisturizer (which is a MUST for me), plus this, plus the rest of this 3-step process. But the primer ended up being one of my favorite products because my face was shine-free all day. And its matte finish didn’t over dry my skin, which was a relief since my skin can be quite prone to dryness. It also works with all skin tones.

While part of my face can be dry at times, I suffer from dreaded T-zone shine, which is where Neutrogena’s Shine Control Powder came in handy. It helped prevent my T-zone oiliness from showing. Here’s a tip in case you experience this, too: Neutrogena says the Shine Control Powder layers invisibly over makeup, so I freaked out a bit when it wasn’t indeed “invisible” over mine. But everything was just fine once I blended it in correctly.

Finally, I covered up the above mentioned blemishes with Neutrogena’s Shine Control Makeup. Luckily, I picked out the right foundation color to match my skin just right so my face maintained a natural look with 8 hours of shine control and SPF 20 UV protection. What I loved most about this foundation was that it left my skin feeling like it could breathe. Goodbye, “cakiness” paranoia!

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Natural, Beautifying Makeup

And now onto the most fun part–the makeup! Not going to lie. The most exciting beauty products, in my eyes (no pun intended), are always the ones that end up being most noticeable on one’s face. You know what I’m talking about… eyeshadow, lip color, mascara, etc.

Let’s talk about the eyes first. I’m a bit of an eye shadow fanatic. I simply cannot have enough options in my bathroom at any given time. But one of the drawbacks to regular eye shadow is that it tends to crease and wear off hours later with sweat as the day goes on. Neutrogena has eliminated this common problem with its Crease Proof Eye Shadow. A built-in primer prevents fading and keeps the cream shadow on all day long, while your eyes stay bright and smudge-free. The result is a flirty, sheer, and silky pearl effect. I had never tried cream-based eye shadow before and I think I may consider using this option more often, especially on days when I know I’ll need my makeup to last me for a long period of time.

Next up is mascara. I cannot leave home without it. EVER. Even if it’s the only makeup I wear (Okay, I lies. That AND eyeliner, but I digress…). The most appealing part of Neutrogena’s Healthy Lengths Mascara is that there are absolutely no clumps involved. Zero. That can be hard to achieve so it’s appreciated when you don’t even have to worry about it. I didn’t notice my eyelashes looking any longer necessarily but the mascara gave them a healthy, natural look.

To complete my look, I conditioned my lips with one of Neutrogena’s MoistureSmooth Color Sticks. I usually opt for lip gloss over lipstick because I hate how lipstick drains my lips of any moisture, and no one wants dry lips! These Color Sticks were designed to improve the texture of your lips, making them softer and smoother over time. I can’t wait to see the long-term effects, but so far, I really like that the lip color stays on looking great without an ounce of dry lip syndrome! I only wish I had a brighter color to play with as I love vibrant hues, but this Juicy Peach color gave me a nice, natural look which complemented the rest of my makeup really well.

Want to give your beauty routine a facelift this spring? Head on over to Neutrogena’s website to order any of these products directly or to find a local store that carries them. You’ll feel naturally beautiful inside and out, too!

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Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and Neutrogena. Opinions are 100% my own.

Taming the Untamed with Fekkai

The solution

There’s a reason why my mother always kept my hair short as a child—with the amount and thickness of it, who could blame her? Although I still make her feel guilty for also dressing me in blue, which lead people to sometimes wonder if I was a boy… okay, that really only happened once while shopping at a store, but I digress.

What’s worse is I actually had bangs back then—a big no-no for someone with unruly hair issues. If there’s one thing I’ve learned along the way, it’s that my hair doesn’t do well cut short in any shape or form.

Let’s fast forward to high school, a time when your appearance starts to matter more than anything else. I remember spending over an hour a day struggling with a flat iron, attempting not to burn my hair while simultaneously trying to achieve a shiny, smooth finish. But no matter how hard I tried, frizz would eventually get the best of me. It was a lost cause.

At some point in college I decided I should just embrace my hair in its natural state. After all, that’s how it was intended, right? I learned to love my in between waves-and-curls situation; frankly, because I felt I had no other choice. Since then, I’ve remained fairly low maintenance with my hair routine: wash, condition, slap on some curl-enhancing hair product, blow dry without a brush, and voila. It usually resulted in a somewhat beachy wave fresh look that kept me satisfied until recently when Fekkai came into my life.

I’ve always known about Fekkai products but was under the impression that this salon hair line was probably too expensive to try. Not only that but I never though a product that wouldn’t require a flat iron would actually help me achieve my desired results of silky, sleek hair. Much to my pleasant surprise, I was wrong.

Happy with my results!

I started using Fekkai’s Silky Straight Ironless Shampoo and Coif Contrôle Ironless Straightening Balm about a month ago and I couldn’t be happier! The process doesn’t take much more effort than I was previously putting into my blow-drying routine, with the exception of adding a brush. In just about the same amount of time, I’m left with amazingly straight hair without needing to use a flat iron OR paying a hair stylist. It’s practically a miracle… or a dream come true for someone like me who’s struggled all her life with problematic hair.

Aside from how good it makes my hair smell (it leaves a light tea and violet scent), the best part is that each product retails for about $25, which may sound like a bit more than you’d want to spend on hair products but when you’ve got hair like mine, you’re happy to pay this much for an easy solution that actually works. Oh, and you should know that the first day I tested the products it was rainy and humid, and my hair remained intact.

You can find the shampoo and straightening balm (plus conditioner and finish serum from the Fekkai Silky Straight collection™) at Frédéric Fekkai Salons, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, and other select fine beauty stores.

Trust me… I never believed I would be able to have chic, straight hair on a daily basis on my own, but now that I know it’s totally possible, I will keep going for that hot hair look without the heat!

What are your hair styling go-tos?

I don’t always wear sunglasses indoors; just when I’m working.

Disclosure: These items were provided by Frédéric Fekkai & Co. for review purposes only. All opinions expressed in this post are 100% my own.