Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette Review

Finally I started using my much waited for Anastasia Beverly Hills Contouring Palette. OMG are these Powders nice or what? Anastasia and her daughter Norvina did a Phenomenal job with these. I own the Light to Medium palette and it is a great one to start off with because it allows you use and test out the formula for both contouring and highlighting shades. This is a great palette for the Professional Makeup Artist as well as the Public Consumer. 

Note: The best contouring shades are those with a grey tone because you want to create a shadow. Powders containing an orange are more of a bronzing powder. 

Anastasia has twentynine shades you can choose from on her site. So you customize this palette if you wanted to. Or if you run out of a shade you can order a replacement for $14.00

I give this palette a thumbs up for its innovativeness and quality but if I where to change any of the Shades in my current palette I would switch out Havana and Vanilla. Havana is to much of a orange brown for my light completion and Vanilla I personally don't feel like I need it since I have other setting powders I prefer. 

Here are some details on the shades. 

✨Sand is a Highlight with lightest possible shimmer. It almost looks nonexistent but surprisingly looks good on once on your skin. This shade is for Light to Medium skin tones with Neutral, Warm, & Beige undertones. 

✨Vanilla is another highlight shade however shimmer is nonexistent. This one is more of a setting powder in my opinion and I like it to sharpen my contour under the cheek bones. This shade is for Light to Medium Skin tones with a Neutral, Warm, & Beige Undertone. 

✨Banana is perfection. I love it under the eye to set my concealer and brighten the area. It has no shimmer and because of its yellow pigment it helps counteract the blues and purples found that area. This shade suites Light to Medium skin with Neutral, Warm, Cool, Beige, & Olive undertones.

✨Java is the first contouring shade and is  a mixture between grayish with a hint of peachy orange. I would say to use a light hand with this shade. This shade was formulated to fit Light to Medium with Cool, Beige, & Olive undertones. 

✨Fawn has to be my favorite from the set it is a grey tone brown perfect for creating that shadow under the cheekbone. This is a great shade for the times when I am NOT tanned. This one is my go to shade. Perfect for Light to Medium skin with Neutral, Cool, Beige, & Olive Undertones 

✨Havana is too red for my Fair Skin. I would have to be looking like Snookie to able to rock this as a contour. Or I can just to all round use it to warm up my face, lightly. Recommend for Light to Medium skin with Neutral, Warm, Cool, & Olive undertones 

I hope you enjoyed this post. 

Xoxo Alejandra 

Festival Inspired

Hello Gorgeous!!

Its been a bit since I have been here on the Blog, I feel so bad about it, YouTube has taken over for real. I found that I really enjoy making videos and it takes so much of my time. I do however want to make sure that I am also connecting with you all here on the blog so I am going to work overtime and make sure that I am also sharing posts here on the Exquisite Glow Blog. Please know that you will see a lot more Videos here and I might create a page just for videos here too. 

Today I wanted to share this video with you, this is my first ever festival makeup look! I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Artist Palette and Sugar Pill Sweetheart Palette to create the perfect Head Turning look for whatever festival, parade or fun event you've got on the calendar! I personally have The Butter and Eggs Parade at my home town to go to today so I will be sporting this look. Have a go at it, Below you can find the Products I used in the Tutorial. Remember you don't have to have the Same exact Products as me to recreate the look, You can interchange the colors to make the look Match your outfit. 

Enjoy the video and Share it with you friends and family ❤︎

Recreate the look, here are the products I used

• Tape
• NYX Cosmetics White Base
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Artist Palette ( Shades Blue Velvet, Unicorn, Punch Fuchsia, Beigely)
• Sugar Pill Cosmetics Sweetheart Palette  (Shade After Party)
• Red Cherry WSP Lashes
• Revlon Photo Ready Kajal in Marine Matte
• Mascarra
• Prestige Liquid Liner in Pop Star
• NYX Cosmetics Highlight & Contour Pro Palette
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in Fair Clair
• The Balm Mary Lou Manizer Highlight
• e.l.f High Definition Powder
• Makeup Geek Blush in Secret Admirer & First Love
• NYX Cosmetics Pencil Lip Liner in Purple Rain
• Milani Lipstick in Matte Glam
• LA Girl Glazed Lip Paint in Coy

As always Stay Gorgeous, 

xx Alejandra

February Beauty Favorites 2015 | Exquisite Glow

Its March!!!

That only means its time for my February 2015 Beauty Favorites. Let's talk about what I have been loving and let me know what you love. I would like to have new products suggestions so that I can try them out and share with the rest of our friends here and all our social media sites =)

For a full list of the products mentioned in the video see below.

Please Subscribe to our channel Here: https://www.youtube.com/user/ExquisiteGlow?sub_confirmation=1

Products Mentioned:

-L'Oreal Paris Magic Perfecting Base http://www.lorealparisusa.com/en/Products/Makeup/Face/Primer/Studio-Secrets-Professional-Magic-Perfecting-Base.aspx?cid=lorus_rm_Google_Makeup+B+Studio+Secrets+Magic+Perfecting+Base_Studio+Secrets+Magic+Perfecting+Base&gclid=Cj0KEQiAsdCnBRC86PeFkuDJt_MBEiQAUXJfLVpAizSaGwzMzPUI8KXtz5t4gV8MLISpC-O4bhb2VDQaAv5F8P8HAQ

-Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara http://www.clinique.com/product/1606/5232/Makeup/Mascara/Lash-Doubling-Mascara

-Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara (Black) http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod2570001

-NYX Cosmetics Fabulous Lashes (Illumination 110 & Tonis Fave 210) http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/p-58-fabulous-lashes.aspx

-Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Eden http://www.urbandecay.com/eyeshadow-primer-potion/296.html#start=1&cgid=1_503

-Real Techniques Bold Metals 301 Flat Contour Brush http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod11831013

-Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist http://www.sephora.com/rosewater-balancing-mist-P224506?icid2=Jurlique_Editors_Picks_carousel_P224506_link
____________________________________________________

Products used on my face in this video if your interested are as follows:

 Loreal Paris TrueMatch Foundation in the shade N3 and smoldering eye khol liner.
Anastasia Beverly Hills  Dip Brow Pomade in Chocolate and Blonde.
MAC Cosmetics ProLongWear Concealer and Eye Shadow
NYX Cosmetics  Lashes style Illumination & Lip Liner in Natural
Sephora Bronzer
Makeup Geek Cosmetics Spell Bound Blush
Kat Von D Lipstick in Lovecraft
Rimmel London  Stay Matte Powder in Translucent
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Missed our Oscar Celebrity Inspired Makeup Tutorials? See Dakota Johnson, Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Hudson Makeup Recreations here:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgI20rWju9plj2UGP9KLlETFZtApsVreL


Thank you so much for all the support we have been getting form all you, it truly means a lot and am so happy to have so many new friends!

Stay Gorgeous!
XOXO, Alejandra

Dakota Johnson's Oscars 2015 Makeup Tutorial | Exquisite Glow

So my editor was completely out of the loop on all these Award shows going on  these last few weeks. Thank heavens for social media who kindly drops hints about whats going on with the rich and famous. We were able to sit with a box of pizza, salad and Twitter while watching the Oscar Academy Awards show on the little screen in her so called living room.

The red carpet, as per usual was packed and was total chaos because of the turn of weather. Thankfully they were smart enough to put up tents to keep the red carpet dry. Excitedly we sat and watched as all that bling pranced down the red carpet, we were pleasantly surprised by a few stunning appearances and took down notes. This week will bring a few Celebrity Inspired Makeup tutorials on our channel. So make sure to subscribe to not miss out.

Follow me Exquisite Glow on my Twitter and Instagram accounts they are both @exquisiteglow. My editor sometimes takes over the accounts but rest assured they really belong to me. So with out further ado I present our first Oscars 2015 Makeup Inspired Video, featuring Dakota Johnson's makeup. The recent star of the most raved and talked about movie 50 Shades of Grey Dakota Johnson made a Stunning Appearance on the red Carpet with a beautiful long red gown and her best accessory, her mother Melanie Griffith! They both looked amazing but Dakota Beamed! It must be that Grey fever going around.. ;)

My editor and I discussed who we liked best and decided on a few looks to recreate. So the first on the list was Dakota Johnson and below you will find a full list of the products used to recreate Dakota's makeup in this Dakota Johnson's Oscars 2015 Makeup Tutorial. We let you in on exactly what products were used and the alternate (more affordable) products you can use. Chanel is a hefty price tag. So enjoy and remember to come back for more Oscar Celebrity Inspired makeup tutorials this week.

Products used:

• Loreal Magic Perfecting Base
• Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation 
• Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Balm
• NYX Above & Beyond Full Coverage Concealer in Green 
• MAC Pro Longwear Concealer
• Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade, Blonde & Chocolate
• MAC Soft Ocre Paint Pot 
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Eye Shadow in Caramel, Topaz, Glisten, Vanilla, and Legend. 
• Scarlett eye pencil in  Chocolate 
• NYX Tonis Fave Lashes
• Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer in Fair Clair
• Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder
• Sephora Sol de Rio Bronzing Powder
• Makeup Geek Blush in Smitten
• Mirabella Lip Lustre liner Hypnotic  K19
• Laura Mercier Lipstick in Red Amour

Don't forget to connect with us through all of our Social Media Sites and avoid missing out on upcoming blogs and beauty videos on our channel. Leave us your comments regarding our content. Is there something you would like to see? Also Check the Poll going on on the right hand side, cast your vote it would mean lots! 

Until next time! 

Exquisite Glow

How to Concealer 101 | Exquisite Glow

We have all been there, down the drugstore aisle wondering why would I want green concealer?? What concealer should I buy? You know tons of questions we ask ourselves when shopping for makeup and its all so new.. Well fear no more, Ill be going over the basics here on the blog. if your more of a visual learner head on over to the bottom of this post for a live explanation and demonstration.


Concealer is a thick highly pigmented makeup product used to cover imperfections on your skin. These imperfection very by individual but can include one or more of the following:

• Dark Under Eye Circles 
• Blemishes (acne)
• Age Spots
• Prominent Veins
• Pores

Concealer can also be used to brighten up certain areas of the face that you want to bring light to. These areas can be:

• Under Eye Area
• Forehead
• the Bridge of the Nose
• Chin
• Cupids Bow

I have to say that I was guilty of using concealer the wrong way until I opened up my mind and did some research. I would use one shade of concealer for everything and found that I was not getting the results I expected from the concealer. I found that my redness would peak trough and that my under eye area still looked a tad purple on bad days. That is where the oh so joyful but scary Green, Yellow, Orange, and Purple Concealers come into play. Lets take a look at this color wheel first.

The rule of thumb with colored concealer and the color wheel is that the color that's across from the "problem" color with tone down or cancel out the other. So For example lets use acne or redness on the cheeks and around the nose. In order to tone that Redness down and conceal the problem you would use a Green concealer (note green is across form red on the wheel). 

To cover up your Purple under eye area you would want to use a Yellow concealer, sometimes the under eye area could appear a tad Blue or in between. In that case you would use a concealer that is more towards the Orange side of the spectrum like a Salmon color or peach if you will.  For blue prominent vein's you would just use an orange concealer, however if you are really light skinned you might want to stick with a salmon peachy color. If you are looking to cover any age spots or just want to even out your Yellowish skin tone you'll use a Purple concealer (note to even out skin on yellow base skin tone you can always use a purple primer). With that said colored primers are more of a even out product where Concealers are more of a lets hide this situation, heavy duty if you will. 

So I hope that this made sense, if not lets break it down here:

Green Concealer gets rid of any redness on your face like rosacea, blemishes and reddish acne scars.

Yellow Concealer get rid of purple under eye circles, vein's and bruises. Depending on the skin tone warm or cool you will use Yellow or Orange/Peach/Pink concealer.

Purple Concealer gets rid of yellow age spots or can even out yellow base skin tones.

So this covers the popular colored concealers. Now lets move on to the regular skin tone concealers.

When you use these colored concealers it is best that you go over them with a concealer to match your skin tone or foundation. I find that sometimes when a foundation oxidizes it can become transparent revealing the colored concealers underneath. So to avoid showcasing green concealer around the nose area or some other awkward place apply your regular concealer over top of the colored one to "conceal it". For those of you who have none of these problematic situations like extreme under eye circles and acne problems you can stick to just a basic skin colored concealer to hide any minimal marks. Regular concealers are also often used as a brightening tool. Have you seen Kim Kardashian? If so you know that kids makeup artist contours the crap out of that beautiful face. using concealer in an upside down triangle under the yes, down the bridge of the nose, forehead, below the contours of the cheeks, cupids bow and chin area. Sounds like a lot? It is but it gives red carpet ready look like no other!

Concealers come in different forms, they come in palettes, jars and tubes. Usually in a liquid or cream formula. I find that the colored concealers are best to use as a cream while covering and highlighting is best used as a liquid. If you don't have problematic skin you can get away with using the skin toned concealer as a cream because you will not be disturbing a colored concealer underneath. If you do use  a liquid concealer, let it set a bit before you start blending it away. Other wise it will sheer out and will not cover as desired. ***Important always apply your concealer first before your foundation. Only use concealer after foundation when highlighting.*** If your interested in a demonstration check out the video below. I will also list the products mentioned in the video, you can find all these items at your local drugstore or if you prefer to shop online like me head on over to ulta.com

Products used in the video:

• NYX cosmetics Above & Beyond Full coverage concealer CJ12 Green
• NYX cosmetics Above & Beyond Full coverage concealer CJ10 Yellow
• MAC Pro Long wear concealer NW20
• Revlon ColorStay Concealer 02 Light
• e.l.f. Complete Coverage Concealer Light Palette
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer Fair Clair  

I hope you enjoyed our first in the How to 101 Series. Please make sure to leave me some feed back in the comments below or in the YouTube comments section. I do hope that you Subscribe to our channel for more how to videos and beauty related fun. Until next time! 

Xoxo, Alejandra

Katy Perry Grammy 2015 Inspired Makeup Tutorial

Hello Gorgeous! We have missed you all so much. So much has happened since we last posted and we will be updating you all real soon. Today's post is introducing our latest Makeup Tutorial on our Channel Exquisite Glow. As you all  know the Grammy's have passed and there were so many beautiful makeup looks to recreate. We decided on doing Katy Perry's look because it looked like a mixture of cool tones and warm tones. 2015 is defiantly a year for more cool tones so we thought we would get started. Following will be a list of all products used in this video in case you want to use the exact ones, or find something in your collection that is similar. We hope that you enjoy this video and don't forget to keep us with us on Instagram and Twitter. We post daily there and you can keep up to date with what is going on =)

Products used in the video:

• MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot
• Urban Decay Naked 2 palette
• NYX Collection Noir Black Liquid eye liner
• Baby Powder
• Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Mascara 
• Koko Lashes Style Bella 
• Sephora Sol de Rio Bronzing Powder (Limited Edition)
• Makeup Geek Bliss & Spell Bound
• The Balm Mary Lou-manizer
• Rimmel London Moisture Renew 700 Nude Delight 

Hope you enjoyed this post!

-Exquisite Glow

Jaclyn Hill Collection | Morphe Brushes & Gerard Cosmetics

I Know! I had to open the post with the open Morphe Brushes Jaclyn Hill Favorites Palette. It is gorgeous. For this post I am not going into detail about the palette because I filmed a Video for this Palette which will be embedded in this post lower down below so make sure to watch. In this post what I'm going to do is post swatches so you all can see the amazingly pigmented shades. This palette's sale price was $27.99 that's around $1.00 each... is that not affordable? I was able to add a discount code from Jaclyn Hill JACATTACK which brought down the price of the palette to $25.19 bringing the cost per shadow to $0.89 now that's cray! Total cost including Tax and Shipping totaled out to be $37.47 This palette is a must have for someone who is beginning with makeup because the shadows are pigmented, easy to work with, the shades are warm which are flattering on everyone, and best of all you get more for your buck. MAC shadows run over $13.00 each. I'm going to go ahead and post the swatches I featured on my Instagram account. For more product swatches make sure to follow our account here.

Ok so this is here is a fan girl moment. After sharing Swatches from from my Morphe Jaclyn Hill Palette, Exquisite Glow was re tweeted by the beautiful Jaclyn Hill! It was so cool! My heart dropped but only because I'm a fan. Anytime anyone Favorites or Re tweets anything from us its an amazing feeling because it feels like we made a connection. Or I made someone smile you know? It was just an honor to have my work (image) featured by her. 

Exquisite Glow's pictures not only caught this beauty's eye but Morphe Brushes also liked our first row of swatches! It was a pleasure sharing a Bomb.com product. 

Moving on to some products that I had the pleasure of trying out back when the the packaging was Whitening Lightning. The first two lip glosses I purchased of of HauteLook were Fiji and Nude. Knowing already that I loved the formula I decided to go ahead and purchase the Lip Products from the Jaclyn Hill collection by Gerard Cosmetics. I took the plunge but thankfully the company offers discount codes and so do your favorite Beauty Guru's on YouTube so your sure to snag a great deal. Go ahead and see how I scored a great deal on my bundle in our latest video. If you didn't already know Jaclyn Hill and Gerard Cosmetics created four lip products that are flattering on everyone. I feel that Jaclyn always has us her friends in mind when she works on any project. I feel that she wants to make sure that anything with her name on it is wearable by any body of any skin tone and that is why we love and trust her so much. The She created two lipsticks 1995 and Buttercup, two lip glosses Rose Hill and Butter Cream. See the swatches below. Right now until February 12, 2015 Gerard Cosmetics is having a Lip Gloss trio Sale. Get three lip glosses for $29.00! Regularly it costs $45.00 This sale can not be combined with any other coupons but this sale by it self is Great!! 

So Here are a few Instagram pictures of these must have products 

This image was also featured by Gerard Cosmetics on their Instagram Acc. 

Lipstick 1995 

Lip Gloss Rose Hill

Lip Gloss Butter Cream 

Lipstick Buttercup

I appreciate you sticking until the end of the post. If you haven't already Please go ahead and Subscribe to our new beauty channel Exquisite Glow, we are excited about this new adventure and want to bring you all along.

XO Alejandra

We Went Live On YouTube!

Hello Gorgeous! 

We are Sooo excited about the launch of our very own YouTube Beauty Channel Exquisite Glow! If you follow us via Instagram and Twitter (which if you don't you should) you already know we launched last night. We started off with an Introduction Video to Exquisite Glow which will be linked here in just a few moments. In the video we open with a pretty cool 30 second intro following a discussion of what you can expect from the channel and a bit about me, Alejandra. At times its a bit... awkward but entertaining at the same time, keep in mind its the first one. Note that this video was Filmed using an iPhone 6+ and we are so proud of the quality of it. Soon we will be getting into the higher definition cameras, but for now this will do. 

Now that we have Exquisite Glow's channel set up, what we will do is show the latest video here on the blog over on the far right--->>> 

Some videos might be tied into the topic of some blog posts found here, so for those videos you can expect that they will be linked within the blog post itself. Sometimes we will just post the video on its own,  depending on whats going on. The channel was created to work along side with the blog so they will defiantly be referencing each other frequently. With that said, please head on over and show your support to our new EG baby and Subscribe via your YouTube account  (click here) 

We thank you in advance, and as always please leave us your feed back and don't be afraid to share our channel via your social media with all your bestie's! Also on the right you will find a Poll. Please go on and vote for your what you would really like to see on Exquisite Glow's Channel and Blog. This way we can bring content that you enjoy most. 

So to finish off here is our very first Exquisite Glow video, enjoy! 

  

XO,

Alejandra

Gerard Cosmetics Featured Us?!

Featured: 1995 & Buttercup Lipsticks, Butter Cream & Rose Hill Lip Glosses

So of course I had to take reign of this post. Since Exquisite Glow is about me "Exquisite Glow", it's only right that I should be able to come on here and celebrate! Humbly of course... the fact that the coolest company on the block featured a picture from our instagram account! Yes that's right my friends Gerard Cosmetics formally Whitening Lightning took a liking to the picture above and shared it with over 215K of their friends. We feel so honored to have been noticed buy such a big well known cosmetics company. We truly appreciate it and hope to continue to impress you with our work.

We had to screen shot it, this baby is going in the Year Book! 

A million thanks! xo,

Exquisite Glow

Five Can't Live Without beauty Products

I joined a Tag on Instagram and thought I would carry over todays post on the Blog. The tag was created by @alexpaiige on Instagram and she named it Ten Days of Makeup Tag. So today I am on Day Three: Five Can't Live Without Products. 

One- Mac Cosmetics ProLongWear concealer. It does a fabulous job concealing any imperfections on my face including Undereye circles. It's perfect to use to highlight the under eye area and use as eyeshadow base. Best of all it DOES NOT CREASE!  

Two- Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade. I never thought eyebrows would be this important, they truly make or break a makeup look. That's why they call the brows the frames of your face. This product stays on my brows for a LONG time with out fading, it's perfect!

Three- Sephora Sol De Rio Bronzing Powder. Contouring my face as become a must in my daily makeup routine. I already have great cheekbones but I love to play them up. This Bronzer in particular is limited edition so I know I'm going to be So Sad when it's gone. Does anyone own this one and know of a dupe? I'm really going to need it it's the perfect matte bronzer for me. 

Four- Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12hr Wear. This came in a set around the same time when I purchased the Bronzer. It was like a theme thing, anyway this Eyeliner is Bomb.com it is waterproof and stays on my waterline for so long and is so easy to smudge to get a smokey effect. I will defiantly continue to purchase this liner so Long as it's not TOO expensive for an individual pencil...

Five- Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder. I have re purchased this baby I believe more than twice. This powder keeps me Matte for a long time. I usually use matte Foundations but when it is time blot I blot and then set my foundation with this powder. It keeps the shine away for hours on end so I Love it! 

What are your 5 Can't Live Without Products? Leave me a comment telling me and if you have recommendations do tell me. 

Stay Gorgeous, 

Alejandra

Fifty Shades of Grey Inspired | DIY Bookmark

OOOOOooo look at what Alejandra has been reading! Caught red handed with this hot little piece of literature. From what I hear, it's a mind graphically intense book...you know what I'm saying?  Let me let you in on a little secret, she loves books that are later turned into movies. She is such a big sucker for that! When she heard there was a movie in the works for this book she immediately went out and bought her self her own copy. The movie is scheduled to be released next month so she's currently going HAM on her reading. This couldn't have happened at a worse time, we've been so busy working on new projects and she's over there taking breaks with Mr Grey. Oh but don't worry I'll keep her on check I promise! Now, I didn't just come here to bust her out about her most recent choice of literature. I wanted to also share a little DIY project she worked on yesterday. I thought it was the cutest thing.

Alejandra had been using sticky notes to save her place in the book so she decided to make her own bookmark. She had been holding on to this cute looking card a family member gave her. The print on the card is like an old fashion wall paper, gorgeous! You can follow the steps to re purposing your own card by following the images below. 

Simply cut the card in half and use some Elmer's Glue to stick the two pieces together.

Using a hole puncher to punch a hole on the top center of the bookmark to give way for a pretty ribbon. The only ribbon she found was one left over from Christmas. 

It was so simple and only took a few minuets to get it done. Now she has cute bookmark made from supplies currently on hand. The best thing about this little project of hers is that she saved something that most other people tend to just toss out. There are so many ways you can safe keepsake greeting cards. You can pin them on a cork board, create poster collage, frame one you love and set on your desk or simply Bookmark it! Hopefully this inspires you to and wakes your creative self. This is not a normal subject on Exquisite Glow but thought it was a neat DIY. Plus I haven't spilled the beans on something juicy in a while so thought it would be a great opportunity to mention Mr. Grey.

Until my next devious appearance on the blog,

Exquisite Glow

How to have Great Skin this Winter | Winter Skin Care Update

This winter has taken a toll on my skin, and I was worried there for a minute. My normal skincare routine was just not cutting it out for me anymore. I blame the weather and well maybe the overload of sweets I've been indulging in during the holidays. However that's no excuse, I expect my skin to cooperate and if my normal skin care routine will handle its business then I just might have to trade up for a better skin care candidate, at least for now during the winter. (see my normal skin care routine here)
It seemed silly for me to just dart out to the store looking for new products so I decided to look through my medicine cabinet in hopes of finding something that might work. The problem I was facing was dry skin with unattractive peeling... oh and lets not forget the little lines around the eye/cheek area, oh hell no! So as you can see something had to be done pronto!
Thankfully I came across two products given to my by a friend that worked at Sephora. I used these probably no more than twice, then they just got lost between all the products in my medicine cabinet. I decided to give these another shot since the claims hit close to what I was looking for.

Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel claims to have anti-wrinkle technology along to helping with rejuvenating, clarifying, and brightening the skin. I needed something that would deep clean my pores and not leave me feeling like I have tons of layers on the skin. Now because this cleansing gel contains both glycolic acid and salicylic acid it takes care of two things I was looking for. The glycolic acid helps to gently exfoliate my skin by breaking down the top layer and removing the dead skin cells that sit on top. This exposes new skin and promotes healthy cell renewal while diminishing acne scars and fine lines. The salicylic acid plainly helps with acne by opening up pores and combating bacteria. I truthfully feel like this product has helped with the texture on my skin. This product is for all skin types but I do have to say that if you have sensitive skin use caution with this product. I use this Product in as part of my nightly skin care routine.

Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion PM contains retinol along with vitamins C and E. This Retinol Fusion PM encourages skin renewal resulting in collagen production minimizing wrinkles and evening skin texture for a more youthful look.  I feel that using both of these Peter Thomas Roth products together as part of my night time routine have completely helped with my earlier stated skin problem. Note this product in particular is for night time use because it can cause your skin to be extra sensitive to daylight. Plus using these products as part of the night time regimen allows for your skin to breath and renew it self because your not wearing tons of makeup.

After all this cleansing and exfoliation my skin needed a something that would moisturize it. I found two products for the job. I decided to start using up again to older products I had traded up for my Aveeno moisturizer.

OLAY Night of Olay firming cream is a heavy moisturizer that claims to firm the skin. It intensely moisturizes and works hard over night to reduce fine lines. For this time of year I feel that a heavy cream is perfect since the air is so dry and having the house heater on doesn't help with the skin situation. When applying this cream I like to message my skin especially the contours of my checks and jawline, I feel like it helps define my face. A nice thing about the this cream is that the skin absorbed the cream beautifully without leaving it Greasy. I use this at night after Cleansing and applying the PTR Retinol Fusion PM

I shower in the morning and cleanse my face using Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser from my normal skin care routine. I decided to switch up my daily moisturizer as well and opted for this oldie but a goodie moisturizer from OLAY.

Olay Complete all day moisturizer with SPF15 is a light, oil free, non pore clogging and helpful to sensitive skin. I personally do not have "sensitive skin" however it's fragrance free, light, and moisturizes for a long time. Perfect for under my makeup. I have to say that switching up my regular skin care routine products with these have DEFIANTLY helped my dry flaky skin. I had to share these finds with you, just in case your experiencing the same skin problems as me this winter season.

I hope you found this useful and learned something, until our next post I hope your doing great!

Alejandra

Crazy Pigmented Blusher | e.l.f Cosmetics HD Blush

Have you tried out these crazy e.l.f HD blushes? Well OMG are they pigmented! I had to go wash my hands and do a second swatch run because I under estimated the amount of product needed. Let me tell you, you only need a tiny bit of this product and maybe even a tiny bit might be too much! 

I went ahead and did a half pump of product as shown below!

Once swatched the payoff is crazy! You definitely have to be careful with this and not apply directly to the cheeks unless you want to be Bobo the clowns new love interest... 

The colors shown above are from top to bottom, Headliner and Encore. The best practice for this product is to pump onto a mixing plate and then using a stippling brush LIGHTLY tap in to the product. Stipple product on to the cheeks and blend. Due to its creamy texture it sits well on the cheeks and lasts long periods of time. As a warning I do have to say that as with any cream product it can stick to dry flakey patches, so make sure your skin is polished and well hydrated. Best practice to better healthy looking skin is Drink Lots Of Water! I can't tell you how much better my skin has gotten by increasing my intake. 

Do you have any of these e.l.f HD blushes?  

Hope your having a great day! 

Alejandra

2014 Beauty Favorites | Exquisite Glow

Happy New Year! 2015 is here and we've survived the Holidays, so now its time to kick it into high gear and make this new year the best year yet! Now there has been a few changes in my personal life which now allows for more Exquisite Glow. Sooo I have been busy working on starting a new little project that makes me both nervous but excited at the same time, and I can't wait to share it with you all. So stay tuned. I read the quote on Carli Bybel Top Makeup Picks of 2014 video and it filled me with hopes and inspiration. "The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals." That is exactly what I am going to do so stay a while and join the ride.

So one of my favorite topics during this time of the year is the Yearly Favorites. So I thought that I would join the fun and share with you all what I loved in 2014. I sure hope I get this right... There will be three categories Face, Eye, and Lips. So lets get into it. 

Primers, Foundations, Powder, & Concealer

   

First category we will be covering is Face. As you can see above this is a little bit of a mix between high end and drugstore. For Primers I have two that I like to use on the face, I use the Pixi Flawless & Poreless when I'm going to use my Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. I like it because it does great covering up my pores and creates a smooth surface for applying makeup. I also use the Double Wear Foundation when I want my Makeup to Last a long time and I can count on that one. This however is my Summer Foundation because of that same fact that it holds up in hot weather. Second primer and foundation Combination is the L'oreal Magic perfecting Base and Revlon's Color Stay Foundation. As you can see I'm pretty much to the last drop. The Magic Perfecting Base has a bit more of a creamy play doe kind of feel with a velvety twist and does a great job helping the foundation looking fresh longer. The Revlon Color Stay is an amazing foundation for it being drugstore. Also it does great on its own without a primer but I opt to use one for my pores. 

I have two concealers that I love to use. One of them is a tad new to me but where the heck have I been? Hello MAC Pro Longwear Concealer this concealer is so opaque and covers up everything. I like to use this on my blemish spots and in the under eye area. This concealer is so good that it is unnecessary to set. Just use your finger to pat it dry and done I experience no creasing. The other concealer I love is Maybelline's Age Rewind concealer, I mainly use this concealer to highlight. What I like most about it is that it does wonders, no, Magic on my pores. It completely makes them vanish, I believe its something about how the light reflects off the product and its amazing. Last thing on this picture is the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent. I have gone through a few of these and it really does make you stay matte, best of all its SO affordable. This product is so serious I had my sister running through Target while I was at the check out line just to bring me one of these babies! We don't play.  

Blushes, Bronzer, & Highlights

This one is exciting because I have developed quite a healthy friendship with blushes. First of all Lets talk about that huge Sephora Sol de Rio Bronzer, I am kicking my self in the A** for not buying a backup. Yes you guessed it it was LIMITED EDITION. Sorry you can't get it anymore... Unless you pay tons of cash for it. Anyway it is the most perfect shade to contour because it is matte and not to warm plus it smells great. I'm going to be so sad when its gone so I need to find a Dupe ASAP, so if anyone has this bronzer and knows of a dupe please let me know. 

Next lets talk highlights, I have two that I'm going to mention and that's the Balms Cosmetics Mary Lou-Manizer and MAC's Mineralize Skin Finish in Cheeky Bronze. The Mary Lou-Manizer is a gorgeous white gold champagne color. It looks amazing on the cheeks and catches the light so delicately making you have an Exquisite Glow. Yes I had to throw that in =) You can also use this to highlight the cupids bow inner corner of the eyes and also a tad on the tip of the nose to make it look cute. 

MAC's Cheeky Bronze is the perfect warm Rose Gold and looks amazing on the high parts of the cheek bones. Its perfect when your wearing a warmer look on the eyes and want to add that WOW factor. I bought this one on one of my spontaneous visits to MAC and I let the makeup artist work his magic on me. I have to say that I love that way it looked plus he mentioned it was new so you know how that goes. If it says new YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT! This is one of the few products that people in my day to day life noticed and complemented me on. That's a great feeling. 

Now lets talk about Blushes because there is a few. 

e.l.f's Blush in Mellow Mauve has an blue/purple iridescence to it while still looking matte if that makes sense. It is a nice mauve pink color that looks great on the apples of the cheeks. I have to say that e.l.f has some great blushes that are worth looking into. I have a few of the regular blushers but this is the one I used the most and just loved in the fall months. This would look great on all fair to medium skin tones.  

e.l.f's Baked Blush in Rich Rose is the perfect brownish rose color with a bit of subtle shimmer, NOT glitter. This shade is great during the winter months. This color would look great on light to medium skin tones.

NYX Blush in Mauve is a pretty matte muted pink mauve color. Wow that was a long description. I like to use this shade starting at the apples of the cheeks and back towards the temples. It looks great when Im also contoured, and helps with elongating my face. I love this blush for evenings in the spring. This shade would look great on all skin tones.

NYX Blush in Angel is gorgeous on the cheeks with a basic look. Its young and pretty pink. It looks great during the day and can help play down a dramatic look or play up a simple one. You need this blush in your collection for the Spring and Summer months. This one looks great on fair skin tones. Best of all it is a drugstore product.

Milani Baked Powder Blush in Luminoso is a the most flattering healthy looking coral in the drugstore. I have to say that this one of the most impressive drugstore products I have ever purchased.  It gives the most beautiful sheen on the cheeks that makes me look so radiant! This blush looks amazing on fair skin tones but also looks good on medium skin tones.

Maybelline Master Hi-light Hi-Lighting Blush in Nude is the most interesting Highlight/Blush. It serves as a great peachy/pink champagne highlight but its not so much in your face where you can't use it as a subtle blush. It makes the cheeks look so supple and plump. This highlight looks great on every skin tone but as a blush it compliments light skin. Rock it my fair ladies  

Makeup Geek in Secret Admirer is the best cool toned matte purple pink color ever. This blush is so soft and smooth, and I feel like it gives you a chilled look. It suits every skin tone which is the best part. I have to say that these Makeup Geek blushes are a must have. Marlena hit it out of the park, and best of all her products are made in the USA! 

Makeup Geek First in Love is a pale pink with slight shimmer, nothing glittery though which is just right for me. I have to say that this shade made me a tad nervous when I first used it because I have to say its a bit powdery but once on the cheeks it gives you such cute looking pale cheeks. It gives a cool look and because it is such a light color this blusher looks best on light to medium skin tones. It would look to ashy on dark skin tones. 

Makeup Geek in Bliss is a matte peachy shade that is perfect when I am a bit tanned. It gives me the perfect evening look when I'm not trying to look to glow'y. I find myself mixing in this color with First Love to create a nice complimenting shade. This blush is perfect during the summer days and looks great on fair to medium skin tones.

I know this is a lot of blushes but when you love makeup you seem to just accumulate a lot! 

Eyeshadow/ Eyeshadow Palettes

These are the palettes that I reached for the most in 2014, I have a few but from all the ones that I have collected I have to say these are the ones I find myself using the most ALL the time. Of course in order to make shadows last you need a GREAT primer and for me that is the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I have semi oily eyelids so a shadow primer is a must for me and this one is perfect. I also included a single shadow and two pigments which I found myself using quite a lot. 

This Stila in the light eye shadow palette is a palette I could not put down when I bought it and one I go back to when ever I want a simple pretty eye for the day. Obviously a favorite is bliss since I hit pan. Two other favorites here are kitten, bubbly, and sunset. You will find that I favor neutral colors. 

This Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy palette is a treasure to me. First of all I am a huge fan of Amrezy and when I saw her little Instagram commercial on her Instagram account announcing her palette I was like YESSS! So as support to her I bought the palette and was so happy I did because the shadows are amaze-balls! I've created so many looks with this palette. Click here to see some of them =) Some of my favorites from this palette are Glisten, Topaz, Caramel, Morocco, Deep Plum, & Emerald. Oh gee you know what I love them ALL! 

OH MY GOSH! Why did I wait so long on this baby? The Lorac Pro Palette is out of this world amazing. This palette is the perfect mix of mattes and shimmers, best of all the shadows are creamy and blend so well together. When I go on vacation this is the palette I take with me. It has a nice variety of warm shades so I don't go crazy trying to figure out what I want. Some of my favorites are Cream, Taupe, Mauve, Champagne, Gold, Lt. Bronze, and Pewter.

If there is a shadow from the drugstore that you ALL need in your life is L'oreal's 24 hr infallible eye shadow in Amber Rush. This particular color is crazy. I have two others from this line and they don't live up to this one here. This shade is like a liquid rose gold. As you can see on my finger the effect is real, but I have to say this picture is not doing it justice. This is so amazing on the lid give it a go. Just to let you know that colors I mentioned that don't compare are Strawberry Blonde and With a Twist. 

Pigments are not something I use on the day to day bases, but I felt that I had to include these because for special occasions these are a product I found my self reaching for. I only own few pigments and these are my top for 2014. Note that these are my top because these are the ones that I have experience with and have played with the most. 

MAC Pigment in Melon is the most gorgeous Golden Peach and I love this during the day with a defined crease. 

MAC Pigment in Reflects Antique Gold is a fine glittery bronze that looks amazing dry or wet. I love to top dark shadows with this to give it a sparkly twist for a night time look. 

Brows, Eyeliner, & Mascara

I sure hope you are all still with me by this point =) If so stick around because I'm saving the best for last. For now lets talk about the remaining eye products. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade is in this picture. This pomade stays on your brows for real. It lasts but I do have to say that by the end of the day it can smear off. I believe that because I have gone through it but then again I am oily. I mostly use the color blonde but sometimes mix it up with chocolate. See my Eyebrow Tutorial here.

NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner has become one of my top liquid eyeliners. This liner has a brush applicator, crazy black and drys semi shiny. Did I mention this is a drugstore product.

Maybelline Line Stiletto is another great drugstore find. I have used this liner for so long and started using this one way before the NYX liner. Now I just switch up between the two. This one has a felt tip point and makes creating a wing SO easy! Its full proof and is what has helped my eyeliner game.

L'oreal Silkissime Eyeliner in black is the eyeliner I opt for when I want a more matte liner finish.  This is the perfect liner to smudge out because its so creamy, and it stays put once it drys on your skin.

L'oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner is my favorite liner for my waterline. Until now it is the only eyeliner that does not irritate my eyes and I have to say this eyeliner last so long for me!

L'oreal Waterproof Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara is a super black mascara and the formula is  a tad watery when first opened which I didn't like, but the more I used it the formula got better.  Now this has become one of my all time favorite mascaras. The brush is old school but actually works well with delivering great volume.

L'oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess Mascara is another one that made the list in 2014. This mascara provides length to my lashes and volume, all while separating. The brush is more of a modern brush which I love. 

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara in Black, this mascara is crazy! It has such a little brush, coats every lash and the formula is amazing. No fall out whats so ever. Last time I went to Ulta I panicked because it wasn't out on the shelves but thank heavens the girl that worked there found one for me. This is a staple in my collection.

Lipstick, Lip Gloss, & Treatments

Now for the best product ever! I told you I was saving the best for last. This is one of my favorite Makeup Products ever. It is the first product Ive ever owned too. Yes this is a crazy amount of Lip Products. I have become a lip product Junkie! Help! No just kidding don't help me. I love it! Now because these are so many lip products I'm just going to list them by company and name. I also want to mention that in the year 2014 I found that these formulas were best for me. 

Lipsticks

Swatches listed below from Left to Right.

Lime Crime Coquette, Babette, & Airborne Unicorn
L'oreal Jennifer's Nude & Fairest Nude
MAC Creme D'Nude & Creme Cup
Rimmel Kate #14
Milani Naturally Chic & Nude Creme
Maybelline Espresso Exposed, Brazen berry, & Blissful Berry 

Lipgloss 

Swatches listed below from Left to Right

NYX Butter Gloss Red Velvet, Raspberry Tart, & Creme Brulee. 

L.A. Girl Glazed Lip Paint Blushing

Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquer Nova

Sephora Pantone Universe Brick Dust & Radient Orchid 

Gerard Cosmetics Lip Gloss Nude & Fiji

Like my little heart swatches? They were hard to do. 

Lip Treatment

These are the two lip treatments I like to use. To repair my and keep my lips moisturized over night I like My Favorite Night Balm. It has an amazing vanilla scent. The balm is perfectly thick and stays on all night. For a quick moisture fix I like to use the Rose Salve while I do my face makeup. This is defiantly not a long term balm which is why I use it for short term periods. It also helps in between lip swatches. 

Lip Liners

I have to say that NYX lip liners pencils stole my heart this last year. They are long lasting and they have a great variety of shades. My favorites are from left to right Purple Rain, Hot Red, Nude Pink, & Natural. I feel like these four lip pencils covers my needs for lining for most of my lipsticks. 

Lashes

2014 was the year of lashes for me. I got to try out a few and these are the ones I just loved and used the most with all my looks.
Eylure Katy Perry Punk Princess
J.Cat Eyelashes Style EL600
Koko Lashes Goddess
I have to say I am still practicing with eyelashes. I don't feel like a pro yet but I am way more comfortable.

Tools

Ok So if you are still reading this then you are defiantly a trooper and I appreciate you. Please leave a comment to let me know you made it through this. It would mean a lot xo

So the last on the 2014 Favorites is the tools.

I have to say that the Sigma brushes are amazing I love all their brushes but I'm only listing the one I use most. I do however recommend the Sigma Mr Bunny set for starters. So from top to bottom.

Sigma Pencil-E30

Sigma Large Shader-E60

Sigma Tapered Blending-E40

Real Techniques Setting Brush

Real Techniques Blush Brush

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

Sigma Large Angled Contour-F40

Well this is it these are my 2014 Favorites. Do we share a love for any of these let me know. Tell me what you have been loving and if you have a product recommendations for me jot it down in the comments. I'm specifically looking for more lashes and foundations for combo to oily skin. 

Again thank you and we hope to hear from you.

xo Alejandra.