Eyebrow Tinting (using Just For Men)

Having extremely light brows my entire life, I always lusted over thick, pigmented brows that didn't require filling in like a color-by-number book. Through my teens I always heard about lash and brow tinting and only thought salons and spas could preform this service. A few years ago, I acquired the knowledge of using Just For MEN Mustache and Beard dye.

The wonderful thing about JFM is the multiple applications you can get from this $5 box (plus it's made for all types of facial hair). Each application would literally only cost a few cents! Being an aesthetician in training, I can tell you salons and spas are making bank off lash and brow tintings alone. 

Very light and sparse hair

 

 

Shade Light Brown M-25

First things first, cleanse the brow area with soap and water or use an astringent to remove makeup and oils. Otherwise, the dye will not stick to the hair.

 

 

The tools you may need are tooth picks or tiny applicators to stir/apply, something to mix your product in- I'm using a small treatment bowl, and a spooly brush if you wish to ensure every hair is covered and of course, the developer and color base.

 

It only takes pea-sized amounts

 

 

 

Mix the color base and developer together, making sure they are blended evenly.

 

 

Evenly apply the product over the brows assuring the hair you want tinted has color applied. Clean up around the area to ensure there is no dye left on the skin and unwanted hair is not covered with dye. BE SURE TO AVOID EYE CONTACT.

 Set a timer for 5 minutes. If left any longer there is risk of staining the skin and burns can occur.

After the five minutes are up remove the dye with soap and water, again, avoid contact with the eyes.

After dye was removed

 

Filled in with Bare Essentials brow filler in Ash Blonde

Goody QuikStyle Paddle Brush



In spring 2012 Goody hair care released a new brush (which recieved InStyle's "Best New Brush" award) that included not just your standard plastic bristles, but also microfiber bristles. Having long hair that seems to take ages to dry I was instantly intrigued with this brush. Goody claims that these bristles (designed with antimicrobial fiber) are added to help wick away 30% more water for a quicker dry time. There are three style options to choose from: paddle*, round and comb.

 

 

Located along the sides are vents designed to allow airflow for a quicker dry time. With that being said, the brush is a bit more bulkier in the body than your standard paddle brush.

 

The brush is lightweight compared to other paddle brushes I have used. This was designed to keep your hand and arm from getting tired quickly. Personally, I found my arm got more easily tired with this brush, which I think is due to the microfiber bristles. I feel like I have to tug a little more to get the brush moving through my hair. I found I had to change hands more than usual to give the other a break.

 





 

I have fine, medium, straight hair

 

 

I found this brush works best when you have time to let your hair towel dry for at least 15 minutes. I did several test runs and found if you used the brush with little to no towel drying time the less the bristles worked. They get soaked quickly and end up rewetting the hair that was just dried.

 

The photos above were taken with approximately 15-30 minutes of towel dry time. Usually my hair would take 15-20 minutes to dry my hair with my usual paddle brush. With the photos above, my hair was fully dry with the exception of slightly damp roots around 6 minutes- which is really quick!.

 

After testing the paddle brush, I think I might purchase the round brush to give a little bit more finish at the ends of my hair and volume at the roots.

 

The only downside to this brush is that it's not meant to be used as a standard brush. You can use it as one, but I find having a regular bristled brush works much better at detangling, etc. So essentially you would have two brushes in/on your counter tops, drawers, storage, travel bag etc.

 

* Sent by Influenster for a non paid review

October Favorites

There's so many things I love about October: there's the changing of the leaves, my birthday, Halloween, cooler weather (OK, maybe not so much on this one), pumpkins, toasting pumpkin seeds, etc.

Today I'm bringing you my favorites of this month. I only have three as my daily routine varies very little. These just seem to be what I've been reaching for the most.

 



Glamoflauge by Hard Candy and Real Techniques by Sam Chapman Flawless Face foundation brush

Pistol (crease) and Verve (lid) e/s from the Naked Palette II

Swatches: L-R Glamoflauge, Pistol and Verve

Clinique Acne Solutions Clearing Moisturizer

Fighting acne is an up hill battle for me. Recently, my skin has been extremely oily to the point my makeup slides off my face. Not even powder foundations like Bare Essentials keeps it at bay. I was on my Sephora app when I saw this moisturizer from their 3-step Acne Solutions line. After reading the reviews I decided I would like to give this a whirl.

"The power of benzoyl peroxide to help treat existing acne and prevent future breakouts. Lightweight, medicated formula creates and invisible, breathable barrier against acne-causing agents. Controls excess oil throughout the day. Calms, soothes, reduces redness. Provides light hydration to minimize dryness and peeling. Skin feels soft, smooth, comfortable."

The consistency of this product is in between a gel and a lotion, much like the Dramatically Different Moisturizer in the gel form. It also has some sort of grainy ingredient that goes away one rubbed in. I do wish that it had a scent. I hate the "fragrance free" scent that comes along with most of their products.

This moisturizer leaves a matte finish on the skin and a slight tightened feeling. The description says that it prevents drying and peeling, but I have noticed that the areas on my cheek bones have become slightly dry after I started using this moisturizer.

I use this under my makeup and it definitely helps with the oiliness throughout the day. I don't have to touch-up with any powder during the day. And my acne has also subsided quite a bit .

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has oily, acne prone skin.



Ralph Lauren Big Pony for Women Perfume

Finally, Ralph Lauren has created a Big Pony collection for women. I was intrigued by the men's line and was so drawn to them when I saw them in stores. I was so excited that I bought my boyfriend a few. That said, I was so excited when I saw an ad for these in a magazine, which contained all four scents on one of those tear off samples inserts. I loved every single one of them and worried I would never be able to own each one.

My mom and I were browsing in Sephora's perfume section and I spotted these half ounce bottles for $45 (1.7 oz-$55). I was so excited to get these home to test them out.

If you're not familiar with the Big Pony line, each scent is identified my a number not a name.

#1-Sporty Fresh, #2-Fruity Sensual, #3-Radiant Floral, #4-Delicious Oriental

 Descriptions from Sephora

#1- cranberry, tonka mousse... playful, irresistible, romance, flirty

#2- grapefruit, blue lotus... energetic, fearless, confident

#3- pear, mimosa... optimistic, radiant, independent

#4- while cherry, purple amber... stylish, imaginative

These all smell absolutely amazing! If I had to pick a favorite it would be #2 and #3. #2 smells alot like Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy which I received for Christmas from my boyfriend and it's my favorite perfume at the moment.

The only this I would change about this product would be that there is no spray nozzle, so you have to pour/dab the liquid. I don't understand why this high end company didn't do this since perfume samples have spray nozzles...

Any ways still a great product and I definitely will be purchasing these in full sizes.

New Maybelline Lipsticks

Maybelline has popped out a new limited edition collection for their COLORsensational simply called Porcelain and they have also brought out a few new shades for the permanent line.

(L-R) 860 Smooth Taupe, 865 Nude Nuances, 30 Tigerlily Treat, 855 Flawless Fuchsia, 850 Porcelain Pink

(L-R) 860 Smooth Taupe, 865 Nude Nuances, 850 Porcelain Pink, 855 Flawless Fuchsia, (bottom) 30 Tigerlily Treat

Tigerlily is not part of the Pocelain line.

These all have a cream finish, meaning they have no shimmer or sparkle. The only down side to this is your lips must be perfectly smooth, otherwise every flake of dry skin will be magnified. :(

I love the packaging, which I unfortunately didn't photograph, but they have a light pink frosted plastic cap, opposed to the shiny caps on their other lipsticks. The smell is the usual light vanilla, much like MAC's.

InstaGram

Follow me: jessicacunn_ngham

Revlon PhotoReady Airbrush foundation

Photo from Revlon.com

010 Vanilla

As a huge Emma Stone fan I naturally had to check out the new Relon line she was hawking. This foundation came out a while ago along with the lip butters, sculpting blush/bronzer duo and a few other items.

The texture of the foundation when dispensed is hard to describe. It's like a foam, but not your usual foam. When you touch it it sort of deflates and turns into a liquid which is quite watery.

I'm quite disappointed in this product. Assuming it was going to be like the name says *airbrush* I thought it was going to help hide my imperfections. This foundation has no more coverage than a tinted moisturizer or BB cream. It is nice and light and doesn't feel heavy all, which is probably due to the fact that most of the product has been injected with air. I hate that this doesn't work for me since I love the other two PhotoReady foundations, but this one doesn't have enough coverage for my acne prone/scarred skin.

This would be perfect for someone who needs light coverage, but if you're hoping for this to make your skin look as beautiful and smooth as Emma's you may want to keep looking.

See you in the salt mines- Jessica xo 



Perfume Collection

Avon's Far Away- Love the smell, hate the design. It reminds me of the 80's and 90's. Seriously, Avon? Avon describes it an "Exotic treasure of dreamy florals, spiced ambers and spirit-moving woods." It smells very mature to me, but not like old lady powdery smell. It is very concentrated so I only spray it once directly on me. The good thing about this scent is that its less than $25 and lasts all day.

Estee Lauder Sensuous- My boyfriend bought me this. I love the way it smells. Its super warm and sensuous is literally the best way to describe it. I only wear this in the fall and winter.

Marc Jacobs Daisy- I bought this when Ulta was giving away free over-night bags on wheels with the purchase of a perfume... well the bag was apparently made for someone under 5 feet tall. I am five four and I would have to kind of stoop down to pull it. I threw away the bag, but I love this perfume. This spring it's going to be used up! It smells exactly like sweet flowers, definitely not like a funeral home or florist.

 Michael Kors Very Hollywood Sparkling Eau de Toilette- I feel like this is a dumbed down version of his signature perfume. This one does not last. I love the smell- it reminds me of magnolias even though they're not present in this scent. Sephora simple says it has black current, neroli (what ever that is) and Mandarin. I love Michael Kors' designs, he is my favorite designer, but this glitter is a little tacky to me.

Dior Addict Shine- This smells super young and energetic. It smells like there may be some citrus in there. Yum!

Juicy Couture- I've had this forever! I have no idea how to describe this so I'll let Sephora do that..Watermelon, Mandarin, Pink Passion Fruit, Marigold, Green Apple, Water Hyacinth, Crushed Leaves, Tuberose Absolute, Wild Rose, Princess Lily, Tuberose, Caramel Creme Brulee, Vanilla, Precious Woods, Patchouli.

 Dior J'ador-I think I've had this one the longest. I believe I asked for it for Christmas when I was in 8th grade. For some reason what I smelt in the department store didn't smell the same as what was in my bottle did when I got it. It took me a while to grow into this. I think I started wearing it in 11th-12th grade. This is my lazy day scent when I don't really know what to wear.

DKNY Pure-I smelt this in one of those little paper peel off things in department store ads and had to have it. Like I literally got in my car 5 minutes after smelling this and bought it. I didn't even bother testing it first. Normally I don't go for vanilla, but this doesn't have that obvious vanillary smell. I think it also helps women in Africa or something like that when your purchase a bottle :)

Nanette Lepore Love Birds- I don't actually wear this, it's not that it smells bad, I just fell in love with the little birds. Plus it was only $12 because I got it at an outlet.

Chloe rollerball- Oh my gosh. I love this scent! I just cant bring myself to pay $100 for a small bottle. This is a floral scent, but I find that it smells kind of peppery/spicy on me. It is so unusual.

Incline Railway

Last weekend my boyfriend and I took a little trip to Lookout Mountain in Tennessee to ride the historic Incline Railway. I've lived close to the Incline my entire life, but waited 20 years before actually visiting it :/.

If you don't know what the Incline is, it is a one mile railway that goes up the side of the mountain. It was built after the Civil War that took visitors and residents alike up the mountain (some residents still use the incline on snowy days). At the steepest point, you are at a 75.8 degree angle. That's freaking scary! But at the top you have the most gorgeous view. We picked a good day because on a clear day they say you can see up to seven states (not that you could tell one from the other). But we could see landmarks close to our homes about 30 miles away. This little trip has made me want to explore more of what my home town has to offer.

The following photos were taken in Point Park atop the mountain.

Inside the lookout fort-hence Lookout Mountain.



NOTD