Dre Does Top 4 Mascaras

Mascara. It's like the one thing us women are never satisfied with. We always want the newest, thicker, more volumizing, more lengthening, darker than black....mascara. It's a never ending quest so I'm here to share my favorite mascaras, mostly drugstore, but also one high end. Keep in mind that what may work for one person may do nothing for another, so let me tell you a bit about my lashes and what I personally like in a mascara.

My lashes are generally long and dark, however they don't like to curl whatsoever and I wish they were fuller. When I look for a mascara I gravitate towards volume, curling, and separation. I always buy them in the blackest black shades as well. I'm a huge lash junkie so I do multiple coats and sometimes layer different mascaras, but let's meet the winners!

1. tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes!: We're just going to start off with my favorite because I can't help it! I recently featured this one in my February favorites and I've fallen in love. It is really dark and very buildable. The wand is skinny enough to really get every little lash and get really close to your lash line.The thing I love most besides all the volume it gives is how great it is at holding a curl. While it is more expensive than the others I've shown here, it's not bad compared to some other high end mascaras. It is a little harder to remove than the others but since this is what comes with great staying power, I don't mind. If you're looking for a comparison, it is much easier to remove than Benefit's They're Real mascara. Since it's more expensive, it's a great one to keep on hand for special occasions or nights out.

2. Maybelline's The Falsies Volume Express: This ones an oldie but a goodie. The slight curve of the wand allows you to get right into the base of your eyelashes and really build the volume. I've gone through at least 5 of these babies and it's a mascara I just always have on hand. It's a great addition to other mascaras if you just want a little more fullness.

3. Rimmel London's Lash Accelerator: This is my favorite lengthening mascara ever. It separates and lengthens your lashes so beautifully and is really buildable as well (as you can see I love multiple coats, so being buildable without getting clumpy is a huge quality I look for in a mascara). I really like to apply this one first to get good length on my lashes and then apply the Maybelline Falsies or another that's more volumizing, to get the desired fullness. Adding this mascara before another definitely helps you achieve that big, long, voluminous lash look! 

4. Physician's Formula Organic Wear Jumbo: This is a new favorite of mine that I finally tried out due to various YouTube beauty gurus, regardless of the tacky packaging...haha. The wand reminded me of the Covergirl Lash Blast wand which I'm not a fan of so I was hesitant at first, but I'm really glad I tried it. It gives you great volume without clumping your lashes. This is another one that is very...get ready for it... BUILDABLE! (I can't help it! Haha). I got mine in a 'two for the price of one' pack so keep an eye out for those! This is definitely one of my go-to every day mascaras. 

All of these prices are based on ulta.com but most drugstores do various Buy one get one half off sales and promos so keep a close look on weekly ads! 

What are your favorite mascaras? Any holy grail ones you think I should try or ones you'd like me to review? Leave me a comment below and let me know because I'm always down to try more! 

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does January Favorites

| Click to Enlarge |

I'd really like to start sharing my favorite products from the month, both beauty and non beauty related. While reviews are great, I think it's more realistic and beneficial to know what people are using consistently. So here are my January Favorites!

1. Physician's Formula Organic Wear Mascara: I had heard some really great things about this mascara but I never gave it a serious thought because of the extremely tacky green metallic packaging. That sounds really stupid when you type it out...haha but seriously! If it wasn't for a ridiculously great sale at Rite Aid and a two for one package, I might not have ever tried it, but I really do love it! The brush is a little larger than I'm used to so that took some getting used to but I love it now. I like how it separates my lashes and gives me amazing volume, but the thing I like most is that I can apply multiple layers and it doesn't clump up like some volumizing mascaras do. I also really like how easy it is to remove, yet it doesn't flake off when you're wearing it. I absolutely hate mascaras that are really hard to get off. I don't care how great it makes my lashes look, I won't realistically wear it if it drastically increases my nighttime skincare routine (ie. Benefit's They're Real). I highly recommend it and now I'm even happier that I got two tubes for the price of one!

2. Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Hair Mask: I got this hair mask in my January Ipsy Glam Bag. Click here for my post on it! I managed to get 4 uses out of that sample and I would say I noticed a difference in my hair's texture. While my hair isn't very damaged, I could tell the mask made my hair softer and smoother. I am probably going to be purchasing the full size soon before that Ipsy discount expires! 

3. Maybelline's 'The Elixir': I won't go too in depth with these since I just posted a review here on them, but I am a huge fan. They are my new favorite lip gloss which is huge since I'm much more of a lip stick girl. I love the pigmentation and texture. They aren't sticky and smell yummy too! 

4. Aveda Beautifying Compostion: Since I've been going to an Aveda Institute since October I've been falling in love with all Aveda Skin Care Products. I could spend hours talking about which ones I love, but for the sake of this post I picked our Beautyifying Composition as a favorite because it's seriously such a multi-use product. It's designed for body, bath, and scalp so I use it as a deep conditioning treatment for my hair, a remedy for any dry skin patches on my body, in my baths, and especially on my cheeks because it's an anti-eczematic! That's only a few of its uses. I'm going to be doing a post on it soon so look out for that! 

5. Beyoncé's new album: I have honestly not been much of a Beyoncé fan in the last couple of years just simply because I couldn't get into her music. That all changed with her new album though. I absolutely love it all; the songs, videos, everything! So good. My top songs however would be Drunk In Love (obviously haha), Blue, Heaven, and Flawless. Just incase I wasn't the last person on the planet to buy it and you haven't listened yet, please do! 

6. Covergirl's Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation: This is another product I heard about through the YouTube world that was getting good reviews so I decided to pick it up at the end of December and it's amazing! When I saw the 3 in 1 claims (primer, foundation, and concealer) I wasn't expecting much. However, this foundation stays on really well, gives you a flawless finish, and conceals the majority of my hyperpigmentation and scarring problems. It has a matte finish though so if you are really dry or like a dewier finish it might not work best for you. I don't like my skin to be 100% matte so I mix it with a tiny bit of another foundation and I find this works well to add some moisture. I have a large amount of hyperpigmentation on my chin due to my Mediterranean skin that tans easily, so when I breakout I scar no matter what. I had to remove this foundation from my chin at school for a procedure and everyone was shocked at the scarring that this makeup was covering, so I have to give Covergirl credit for making an amazing product. I highly recommend this one. 

7. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush: I talked about this brush in my Brush Guide found here, but it's another must have for me. I've only reached for this brush when doing my foundation since I bought it a few months ago. Great price and great quality.

8. Celestial Sleepytime Tea: Sleepytime tea is my go-to night time tea. With no caffeine and lots of amazing herbs it smells heavenly and tastes so good. I've gone through a whole box in January alone because I drink it so much. It's so prefect for relaxation and getting you ready for bed (shocker I know since it's called Sleepytime...haha).

9. tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hr blushes: To say that I love these blushes is an understatement. I have many and they are honestly the only blushes I grab for 95% of the time. Perfect amount of pigmentation, gorgeous shades, and they last longer than any other blush I've ever used. 100% worth the higher price tag. Go to your nearest Sephora or Ulta, swatch them all, and TRY to walk out without purchasing at least one...I DARE YOU! I'm like a kid in the candy store with all tarte products...

So there they are! The first month of 2014 is over and these are the products that helped me welcome the new year. What were your favorite products last month? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does a Maybelline Elixir Review

I wouldn't consider myself a huge lipgloss fan. I'd say my lip product collection is easily a 5 to 1 ratio of lipsticks to lipgloss. Due to the fact that I like my bold lip colors to be matte 95% of the time, I simply don't own many lip glosses. However, recently I've been getting more into nude lip colors and the look of a glossy finish is growing on me. I decided to try out some of 'The Elixirs' by Maybelline because I've been hearing nonstop positive things since they came out, so here we are.

(L to R): Nude Illusion, Blush Essence, Captivating Carnation.

To say I'm in love with a lipgloss is an understatement. Never did I think I would use that sentence. I'm really picky when it comes to gloss, so for me to be this obsessed with one is insane. I don't like sticky at all and I want a good cremey and pigmented finish. I don't like a super sparkley or glittery gloss either, so before these my go-to glosses were the NYX Butter Glosses. I still love those, but these Elixirs are amazing! Extremely buttery and smooth, great pigmentation, and they smell nice. I think the color range is good too. 

(L to R): Nude Illusion, Blush Essence, Captivating Carnation.

I purchased the shades Nude Illusion (060) and Blush Essence (095) the first time. After Nude Illusion created a new home in my pocket every single day, I went back and picked up Captivating Carnation (080). Nude Illusion is still my favorite but I love the other two as well. As you can see in the swatches below Nude Illusion and Captivating Carnation are both Creme glosses with no shimmer at all. Blush Essence (in the middle) has a slight shimmer to it but you can't feel it in the gloss and it's honestly not that noticeable. I really like the applicator as well because it's slightly slanted and the point at the tip makes it easy to be precise with your application.

Overall, I love these things. Watch your Rite Aides or Ultas because they will often have Buy One Get One 50% off sales for Maybelline (I know I will haha). At most locations around me I've been seeing them for $8.99 each! 

What are your favorite lip glosses? Leave me a comment below if there's one you think I should try!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does a Makeup of the Day

I posted this a sneak peek of this makeup look yesterday. I think it's the perfect Natural makeup look. It's also really quick and easy. I did my normal face routine, but I wanted to point out some key aspects of the look. First off, whenever I'm doing a super natural look I always make sure to fill in my brows. It's a simple way to give your face structure and make you look polished and put together without much makeup on. I use the color Faint (a medium to dark brown) from my Urban Decay Naked Basics palette and a small angled brush. Then I just set it with a clear mascara so my brows stay put and the color lasts longer. 

Next, I did all of the tips from yesterday's post on making your eyes look bigger and brighter. You can especially see how I defined my eyelids. I applied a Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow in Barely Branded (70) and then on top I used my Naked Basics palette again (I wasn't exaggerating in that post a couple of weeks ago about how much I loved it haha). I added the lightest shade Venus in the middle of my lids, added Faint in the inner and outer corners, and blended everything together nicely. That's it! Even though they're matte shadows, I love the glow it gives my eyes. They really pop and look bigger! 

All I did after this was apply my Rimmel Lash Accelerator mascara and add some Chapstick and I was done! I've listed all the products below to achieve this look. It's seriously my go-to easy makeup when I'm rushed and still want to look put together! 

Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation in buff beige

Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette in 07 light

NYX Wonder Pencil in 01 Light

tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess

tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour blush in treasured

tarte Amazonian Clay Highlighter in Champagne

Revlon Photoready Transulecent Face Powder

Maybelline 24 HR Color Tattoo Metal in Barley Branded

Urban Decay Naked Basics Eyeshadow Palette (colors Venus and Faint)

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Clear Transparent (for brows)

Rimmel Lash Accelorator Mascara in Extreme Black

Have a beautiful day,

Dre