Loving in August 2014

We're coming upon the end of August this weekend so I wanted to share with you what I've been loving throughout the month. I have been experimenting with with so many different makeup products but I defiantly have a few that I've just been loving.

I'm going to start off with a shadow I've had for a while and that is a L'oréal Paris infallible eye shadow in the shade 892 Amber Rush. These shadows have been compared time after time to the Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Eye Shadows so naturally I had to test them out. I actually picked up this eyeshadow color because of one of my Favorite Beauty Vloggers on You Tube. (We just posted her picture on our Instagram account, follow us there and see who it is ❤︎) So basically these shadows are like a pressed pigment in a jar. The formula claims to be 24 hr wear and water resistant however I haven't worn it that long nor to the beach, but it does last all day on my lids with a primer underneath. The texture of the shadow is wonderful and so velvety smooth to the touch. I have to say that when I use my finger to apply the shade on to my lids I get better color payoff then I would if I used a brush. Amber Rush is such a gorgeous Rose Gold Color and in my opinion this is a must have in every ones collection.

Another Product I wanted to shout out is my Maybelline Clean Express! Water Proof Eye Makeup Remover. This Product is so amazing. Now that I'm using waterproof mascara more during the summer days this baby has come in handy. The formula looks like oil and water but its oil free... if that makes sense. What you do is shake the bottle pour some of the formula on a cotton round and swipe the makeup off your eyes. It breaks down your makeup effortlessly and all you do is wash off your eyes with some water and your done. I also appreciate that this is a safe formula to use when I wear my contacts.  This is a product I've repurchased multiple times and will continue to do so.

Now, moving on to some new products that Ive had for a few weeks and have just been loving. The first one is this Rimmel London lipstick by Kate Moss number 14. This lipstick color looks so beautiful on my lips I just can't get enough of it. The formula is a tad less creme sheen than those of MAC on the lips, but when I apply a swatch to the back of my hand it feels much more slippery there. They claim to have a staying power of up to eight hours which I believe it can if you didn't eat or drink all day. I personally like to reapply my lipsticks to freshen up the look even though I can still see some color after lunch. The overall packaging of the lipstick is cute and includes a heart along with Kate's name in the color red. An important quality of the lipstick is that it smells great and is not over powering at all. I am so impressed with this one that I plan on picking up another shade soon.

I usually change my nail polish every week but this color combo was so gorgeous and it lasted so long without major chipping. I had so many clients ask me about my nails during the week. They thought I had them done at a salon. One lady asked me where I got my Nails Done. I responded with at my house... She was amazed. The Polish from Zoya is called Odette and the Maybelline is one of their Color Show line polishes in the color Gilded Rose. Gilded Rose looks amazing on top of any purple or pink shade. Test it out yourself, you'll love it.

I finally picked up the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip brow Pomade's. I love that the formula is waterproof and fade resistant. It really helps define my brows and allows me to shade them in while still looking soft and natural. A little bit of product goes along way so I like to take a little with my brush and mix two colors to get the right shade for me. When I do my makeup now I feel incomplete if I don't use this product. Its true what they say about your brows, they really do frame your face and tie everything together. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!

The last makeup item I wanted to share is another Anastasia product, and that is the AMREZY Palette. When I saw the Instagram Clip Amra Olevic posted announcing her working with Anastasia I had to look into that. I have admired her Instagram Page for a while and I wanted to support and celebrate her success by purchasing and using a product that she helped put together. The colors in this palette are so wearable and you can create so many looks with it (Keep an eye out for a post on that). You can use the colors on their own or mix the colors to create an amazing combo. I will be going over the palette in more detail in another post coming soon. I just wanted to make sure to include this in my Loving in August post because Ive been using it non stop.

I appreciate you reading this far but I have one more thing I wanted to share. I do not own this but it is something I want to mention. Now that I've started Exquisite Glow I find my self all over the place in terms of ideas and post it's all over the place like my purse, car, nightstand and computer. I know I can use a notebook to jot everything down but the girlie in me spotted a cute Instagram picture showcasing a Kikki K Planner and now I'm obsessed. I want to order one so bad but they are so expensive. I can't get enough of Instagram Accounts with pretty stationary and planner pictures. Pretty paper, pens and writing in calendars has always been a little obsession of mine but never really stuck to it. Well now I can, but for now I am using this little sugar • paper Los Angeles Monthly Planner I had bought at the beginning of the year and forgot about. Until I have a good idea of what kind of leather planner I want to get and what I want in it I will stick to this little planner and organize my self. I am digging all the gold detailing on the pages, tabs and spiral rings.

So that's it, there are more things I have been using but these are the ones I wanted to mention because they are the ones I have just not been able to put down. What have you been loving this past month? Tell me by leaving a comment below and let me know of anything you think I might like to try out. Do you use planners? What tips can you give me? I look forward to reading your responses.
-Alejandra

Psst!... I told you she wasn't going to make it a second week. She went on and changed her polish on Wednesday after posting a picture on our Insatgram page revealing a chipped mess. See it here.

-Exquisite Glow 

Skin Care Routine Products

The key to amazing skin complexion is a constant skin care routine. Finding products that work best with your skin can be challenging. However doing your research can help tons and avoid spending loads of money using the trial and error approach. Don't get me wrong there could still be some disappointments even after extensive research. Thankfully I believe I have found a product combination that works best for me. Thus far I have been able to maintain my face mostly clear of acne while maintaining great skin texture. I still have an oily T-zone but it is not as bad as before, and my pores have been slowly decreasing in size (keep an eye out for a Flawless Skin Makeup Products post coming soon). The right skin care along with the right makeup products can make you look flawless in real life. In pictures there are always tools you can use to edit and blur some imperfections which I am guilty of using [Not going to lie], But I have to say that I do really like how my skin is doing using these products.

Let's start with the daily routine. 

Everyday I use my Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser to wash my face in morning and night. This cleanser leaves my face feeling clean without a drying out my skin. Personally I like using face washes that foam or lather up, which this one does not do on it's own so I like to use a Konjac Cleansing sponge with the cleanser. Now with that in place I feel like my face is gets a better clean than with me just using my hands with the cleanser. The sponge is made of Konjac root and has been known to be used in Japanese beauty culture for many years.  This sponge gently exfoliates your skin and is gentile enough to use in the under eye area and neck. After cleansing my Face with Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser and Konjac Sponge I pat dry my face with a microfiber towel to easily soak up the water without having to rub my face. 

I follow up with my Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 (toner) which is a gentle exfoliating lotion for combination to oily skin. It helps take away flakes and oil that can clog pores making the perfect serface to apply my next product which is a serum. I lightly soak a Cotton round with the toner and sweep that gently on my face. I like using cotton rounds that have a bit of an exfoliant texture to help pick up more dirt and flakes off my face. 

After that I follow up with Loreal Youth Code Texture Perfector Serum Concentrate. I had never used a Serum before this one, and to be honest I have only had this serum for about a two and a half months. I’ve watched so many You Tube videos of different girls sharing and demonstrating their skin care routines and a few them included Serums, so naturally my interest grew around finding a serum to incorporate in my routine. After some research I determined that this one would be a good one to start off with because of the results that I could expect and cost. Let me tell you I DO NOT REGRET this purchase. I feel like it is in the lower middle price range which is comfortable for me and best of all it does what it claims to do. I use one pump of the serum on the back of the hand and I use my finger tips to distribute the product on my forehead cheeks and chin which are my problem areas. Then I message the product into my skin. Serums are usually a light weight fluid that is designed to penetrate your skin easily instead of it sitting on the surface. My skin absorbs the product quickly leaving my skin feeling smooth and leaving no evidence of residue. Over time of use the results are amazing, my pores have reduced in size, my fine lines are less visible and my skin feels moisturized and plump. 
*Note results take time and commitment, they are not overnight results.

***Depending on if I have breakouts I will add this step to the routine. If I have none I skip this step. To treat blemishes I use Clean & Clear persa-gel 10 with 10% benzoyl peroxide. Seriously guys this acne medication is amazing. It seriously gets rid of blemishes so quick and even works great when I use my Moisturizer on top of it. I do like to use a cotton swab to apply the medication directly on the blemish and avoid drying out the surrounding skin.***  

After that I follow up with my Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 15. What I love about this moisturizer is that it's light on my skin and soaks right in. I am left with no sticky oily feeling on my face and best of all it does not clog my pores. It claims to improve your skin texture leaving it soft and smooth while evening out your skin tone. I believe that it has done just that and because it is safe for people with sensitive skin I experienced no breakouts when I started using this moisturizer, unlike others Ive used in the past. Plus I defiantly feel like my texture as dramatically improved. 
*Note I started using this moisturizer way before I incorporated the L’oréal serum in my skin care routine and noticed the difference in my skin before, it just got better when I added the serum.

After all this my Face is ready for my Daily Makeup Routine, but there are a few more steps to my skin care routine that I want to share with you.

That Brings us to the weekly routine.

At the end of the week I like to give my face a little extra TLC. Thats where my Face Mask, Face Scrub, and Face Brush come in. Usually on Saturday or Sunday morning I will use my Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser with my Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System. (This in my opinion is a dupe/cheaper version of a Clarisonic) This facial cleansing brush has two speeds to deep clean and gently exfoliate your skin. If my skin felt a little tough and scaly by the end of the week after using so many makeup products though out the week, using this Facial Cleansing brush makes your skin feel like new.

Once Ive cleaned up the skin or taken off a few layers as I like to think, I proceed by applying my FORMULA 10.0.6 Pores Be Pure Skin-Clarifying Mask. I usually apply this right to my problem areas like Forehead, Nose, Cheeks, Temples, and Chin. Always avoiding my eye area and the immediate area around my mouth. I usually leave the mask on unitl it drys on my face and I start seeing it collect oil off my face. Usually it takes about 15 -18 minuets. This Particular mask is a skin refining mask that works incredibly on clogged pores. On the Bottle it states that the Strawberry and Rosemary eliminate the impurities and the yarrow clarifies the skin leaving a perfect complexion. The feeling of the mask is quite stinging, however it is supposed to be normal so don't be frightened. Just think of all the crap coming out of your pores. When its time to take off the mask I usually hop in the shower and rinse off the mask with warm water.

While in the Shower the last thing I use is Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub to give my face a deep clean. I use it because shampoo and conditioner can clog my freshly cleansed pores. So the soft beads in the scrub help clean off any residue left behind by hair products or the mask it self. This mask gives me a FRESH minty tingling sensation which I personally think feels amazing! It leaves me with a sense of extremely clean skin.

So this is my current skin care routine. I know that it ran long, but I had to tell you and I did not want to leave anything out. 

Thank you for sticking till the end,

Alejandra

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Royally Purple with a Glitzy Twist | Maybelline & Zoya

Hi Loves,

Exquisite Glow here. I felt the sudden urge to snitch on my editor Alejandra, I just can't keep this on the DL (down low, for those of you who don't know the lingo...) but she just decided to not change her nail polish for the up coming week! That is crazy talk in her book, she is all about keeping the nails polished and stunning. It must be her conscience trying to make up for all those embarrassing high school years of nail biting and shitty looking nails. Any way let me give you the scoop, earlier this week you might have seen a picture of her cute little manicure holding that purple little Zoya Polish on our Instagram Page. Well she actually polished her nails last Saturday night because she had some "major" event to go to on Sunday (a five year olds birthday party, you should have seen her scrambling over floor trying to score some piñata candy HA!) It's now Friday and the nails have held their own. The polish is still intact with minor damage. The tips show some wear but no MAJOR chipping, resulting in her crazy decision to keep 'em the same for the next week. She mentioned that she would add just a coat of Beauty Secrets Hardener to strengthen the nails and restore some shine. Lets see if she lasts the week without giving herself a change of polish. Who's taking bets?

The polishes used to create her current Nail Look are Zoya's Odette which is a beautiful Purple color & Maybelline's Color Show in Gilded Rose 305 which is a rose gold glitter based polish, beautiful on its own or over top another color to add so pizazz!

For more on the Daily Follow us on Twitter @ExquisiteGlow and if you want to see more Pretty Pictures Follow our Instagram Page @Exquisite_Glow

Until our next chat

-Exquisite Glow

The NUDES Palette Review | Maybelline New York

Welcome to the first official post on Exquisite Glow, I'm excited your here! Usually We would introduce our self's via first post but Exquisite Glow and I have covered that in the Introduction & About pages above. Just click on those lovely tabs if you haven't =)

Today I wanted to cover this new palette Ive been using non stop. That is The NUDES by Maybelline New York. I came across this palette while on a rouge trip to Ulta and picked it up faster than my brain could process the action. The shades in the palette made it such an impulse buy. I thought for $9.99 why not just throw it in the bag. The palette seemed to have quite similar shades to those of the Urban Decay Naked 2 and Stila In the Light palettes so I thought I'd play around with them a tad and see if the shades were comparable.

The NUDES palette is designed so that it takes the guess work out of putting eye looks together. Very convenient may I say for those starting off with makeup, making this a must have for young girls. The palette works as Quads, Trios, Duos or however you please really.
The way I look at it I would possibly choose the QUAD's for and evening or night look. Here are the combinations:

For a day look or lunch date I would opt for a TRIO look. These selections are perfect for School and Work.

Now for the days where your more of in a rush or just want to add a bit of color to your eyes without going overboard then the DUOS are the way to go.

As you can see this palette is extremely versatile and in my opinion genius. I have quite a few palettes that can be difficult to to figure out if your not experienced with makeup. Lets get into the swatches shall we? So, as I mentioned before the palette caught my eye due to it being so similar to the UD Naked 2 and Stila In the Light palettes. As you can see the swatches below the pigmentation on a few of these was defiantly lacking in awe. The picture on the left showcases the top row shades. Lets just name them 1-6.

Row One: Shade One, is a great iridescent shade and looks fabulous as a brow highlight and inner corner of the eye. Shade Two, is a satin finish taupe that looks great allover the lid or just in the crease to deepen up the look. Shade Three, really just looks good as a brow high light I have to be honest it's not my favorite shade. It lacks pigmentation and dose not show up that well on me. However it should show up if your of a deeper skin tone. Perfect for the lid in that case. Shade Four, is a beautiful cooper-bronze and looks great on the lower lash line and outer V of the eye. Seriously one of my favorites. Shade Five, is also a taupe with a more matte finish and feels more classy. Shade Six, is a deep matte grayish-brown color that is perfect to darken up the crease. Also you can use this shade wet and apply it as a liner on the upper and lower lashes. I have to say it is a bit dry and can swatch splotchy.

Row Two: Shade One, is a beautiful peachy-bronze shimmery color that looks amazing all over the lid. Really you can wear this color on its own and look just perfect. Shade Two, surprisingly has great texture and easy to blend. It seems like a satin but looks matte to me, its a great color. Shade Three, is the color I was most looking forward to. To my excitement the color did not disappoint, however it was also not as pigmented as I thought it would be and is more of a warm tone shade. I was expecting it to be like Urban Decays Half Baked and it does compare to color (defiantly in the same color range family, but cooler tone). Shade Four, is a dark burgundy-bronze color and is a great color to use and darken up the outer V and lower lash line. Shade Five, is a wonderful light satin nude pink that is easy to blend on the lid and use as a inner corner highlight. Shade Six, is a extremely dry matte black that takes some work to blend in with the other colors. Although some might like it because you can gradually build up the intensity of black. 

The palette also comes with a sponge tip applicator which I'm not a real big fan of but this one has a pencil like tip which I had not seen before on other drugstore palettes I've owned. One thing that it is lacking is a mirror. I really wish Maybelline would have included a little mirror on the lid inside. That would have made it just perfect packaging wise. 

Overall The NUDES is a good palette to have. I am really enjoying this palette and find my self reaching for it quite often. I hope that this post was helpful to you, if you liked it please let me know and don't forget to share this post with friends. Go ahead and share these images via Pinterest. I am so excited to get this out to you and hope to bring you more great reads. Lastly here is a look using this palette.

-Alejandra