​I recently done my favorites in Skincare right now. So now I'm gonna do my makeup favorites as of late. Lets get into them.

​If you're looking for a super lightweight but effective SPF, Neostrata has got you covered. No pun intended there. The Neostrata Sheer Hydration SPF 35 is the most light weight formula I've ever seen. It absorbs quickly, not greasy in the least and easy to apply makeup over top. I love it.

​It's been a while since I've done a roundup of my favorite beauty products. So why don't I just do one then. I have quite a long list. I may break it into two posts. One for skin and one for makeup. That way it won't be crazy long and I can talk about the products more.

So this is going to be the Skincare Favorites of right now. I'm hard on skincare, I'm extremely picky on what products I "like/love" because I test so many. I'm constantly rotating stuff so you have to MAKE ME want to use you. Either by results, the feel, or sensory bliss like smell etc etc.

I'm happy to discuss with you some more products from Kenra that are available now at Ulta.

I've discussed the Snail Cream in another post. Mainly the Cavier products and Snail Cream are great for strengthening hair, helping with aging hair, helpful for thinning hair because of the protein it provides. So if you need products to get your hair healthy, I have no problem recommending those.

Some info on that:
"KENRA PLATINUM SNAIL COLLECTION:
The fastest growing anti-aging Korean beauty secret, Snail Essence, can now be applied to hair. The NEW Kenra Platinum Snail Anti-Aging Collection is the 1st professional hair care product infused with Snail Essence, a highly concentrated blend of proteins proven to awaken the youth in hair. This luxurious 10-in-1 corrective creme weightlessly restores and prolongs youth by fighting all 10 signs of aging hair:

1. Dulling
2. Thinning
3. Breakage
4. Frizz
5. Dryness
6. Elasticity
7. Porosity
8. Scalp irritation
9. Unmanageability
10. Coarse Texture"

I've always been a fan of their Heat Protectant sprays, it's on of the first ones I used. The heat block spray has been crucial to curling my hair and keeping it as healthy and undamaged as I can. 

Their info on the Heat Block Spray:
"
KENRA PLATINUM HEAT BLOCK SPRAY
NEW Heat Block Spray 22 is enriched with bee propolis, a natural resin that forms a cast around the cuticle for unparalleled heat protection. This multi-benefit, quick-drying, high hold spray allows for a clean release from styling tools. 

• Multi-benefit styler provides heat protection up to 450°F (232°C)
• Finishes with high hold
• Enriched with bee propolis for unparalleled heat protection
• Allows for clean release from styling tools"

The Alcohol Free is new to the line and I'm very excited. It works just as well as any single hair spray I've used, if not better. Above are all the hair looks I done while using these products over the last month. You can find them all on my Instagram as well. 

This is their info on the Alcohol Free Spray 
"
KENRA SHAPING SPRAY
Keep the alcohol out of your hair and in your martini with Kenra’s NEW Shaping Spray 21. New from your favorite hairspray brand, Kenra introduces the 1st ever professional alcohol free hairspray. This revolutionary technology provides max moisture retention with an extra firm hold and high shine finish. Shaping Spray 21 is designed to have a wet application with optimal control and working time for endless styling options.

• 1st Professional Alcohol Free Hairspray
• Max Moisture Retention
• Optimal Working Time
• Extra Firm Hold & High Shine"

These are now available at Ulta 

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​Here lately, I've seen quite an influx of "oxygenating" products on the market from creams to serums and facials. The facials have been around for a while. Becoming most popular in the states around 2006 thanks to celebs really loving their instant effect and now oxygen facials are a standard step in spa treatments and also for red carpets, award shows, events, etc.

Time for another "Why Isn't Anyone Talking About This?" post. This products has actually not been out very long, but I've heard no buzz about it at all. No buzz before it launched and no buzz afterwards. Not that I seen anyway. I can not figure out why.

This is the second time Bare Minerals has made it into this series. So I'm going to go ahead and say that their latest makeup that they've been putting out like the Invisible Bronzer and Invisible Glow. Plus their Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lips that have been out for a while, which are my absolute faves,  are solid products. I'm also a huge fan of the Bareskin Concealer, talking about it several times on here.

I'm happy to add another solid product to that list. So I'm talking about the Bare Minerals Bare Pro foundation. It's still new. I've had mine for about 3 weeks I guess. I kept waiting on people to talk about it and no one did. So I will!  This is a light weight, liquid formula. However, the pigment in this is unreal making it full coverage without the weighted down, pore clogging, cake-y looking, side effects from most full coverage foundations. 

It's a pump packaging in a glass bottle. You get 1 oz and it runs for $34. Which I'm cool with because every, single, foundation I'm seeing these days are up around $40-$50 or more. Which I have and would pay for a very good foundaiton but still it's nice to see them sticking to the price point that I've always seen them have. There are 30 shades which in my opinion is impressive. 

The pigment in this is so strong that you definitely need your correct color. I normally can make a shade slightly darker or llighter than my actual skin tone work with other foundations. This one I could've went with a bit of a darker shade because again the pigment was so potent that it was easier to tell that it wasn't going to be the exact color match. Which I fixed with bronzer and concealer in some spots. So definitely not a catastrophe like sometimes that can be. 

I have used this with a stippling brush and a sponge. I recommend a brush and stippling it on to get the most coverage but using a really dense sponge like the Elf teal sponge or Morphe Sponge still worked just fine, it just caused me to use more product which I'd rather not do if I can avoid it. 

So yea, there ya go. I think you should check this out. It's at Ulta and Sephora. I love it. I've not used anything else since I got it. 

Below is a gallery of me wearing shade 03 Champagne

​With Halloween getting closer (yes!) I think it would be a good idea to tell you how I take care of over stressed skin. Last Halloween I believe I done around 20 looks as part of a campaign for a company. Super stressful on the skin especially toward the end of the month. I use SFX makeup, fake blood, liquid latex, an assortment of paints, etc etc. We're not talking one base color we're talking maybe 3 to get it opaque. I'll drop in some photos that I've done both last year and this year so you can see how detailed it can get. 

By the end of the campaign last year I was toast. My eyes were tired and sensitive. My skin just kinda hurt. However, I was not doing the extra steps to replenish the skin and take care of it while scrubbing all the paint off. So of course it was sensitive, dry, a bit chapped to be honest, and red. It took a week of no makeup and gentle skincare to get it to feeling better but since then I've learned what my "go to" routines are. (maybe I'll make that a series) I have one for breakouts, I have one for stressed skin, I have one for reactive skins. This would be the stressed/tired/sensitive skin routine from constant abuse with paints lol.

So lets get into it:

Right off the bat....double cleanse (Thank you Caroline Hirons for coining the term). Please just do it. For any makeup not just face paint. I prefer a balm for that instead of an oil. That's just me. I do however like the Dermalogica Pre Cleanse but that's really the only one. I love the Elemis Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm and Farmacy Green Clean both are very different. A more affordable option is Botanics Cleansing Balm. I feel like it's better suited for oilier skin types. It takes a bit to get the eyeliner off your face with this specific balm so it does have it's draw backs.

For the 2nd cleanse I use something very gentle like Youth To The People, Kate Sommerville Gentle Cleanser, Soco Botanicals Citrus Gem cleanser, etc. Anything gentle will work. I try not to use my Clarisonic too much on sensitive skin. Even with the softest brush it can be too much for my skin at the least amount of pressure. So a warm face cloth is my best bet for this. 

Next I go in with my usual treatments of serums, oils, and sprays. I tend to leave out Acid toning and Retinol during the most intense times unless they're very mild. I love using Martian Water Gel Toner from Sunday Riley when my skin is sensitive. It's meant to be calming and soothing for problematic skin. I don't have problematic skin but it's definitely beneficial for tired and sensitive skin. I always go in with Vitamin C though, everyday. I use a milder version usually a 10%-15%. Keep in mind this is for the times when the skin is very sensitive and tired. Not an everyday routine for me.

Next I tend to go in heavier with oils. I like anything with blue tansy or carrot in it. I'm a big fan of the Mahalo Balm which is more like a concentrate, I love Juno from Sunday Riley because it's packed with antioxidants. May Lindstrom Blue Cocoon balm concentrate is lovely for inflammation and really "feeding the skin" with blue tansy. The serums from The Granola Goat like 24 carrot, and Seeing Clearly. Seeing Clearly  has Blue Tansy in it and obviously 24 Carrot has carrot. I like oils that are super rich and thicker feeling because they seem to be the best for replenishing tired skin or dry skin. 

After oils I use a refreshing spray. My preferred one is First Aid Beauty Vital Greens Face Mist. It's cooling and feels amazing. I also really like the Clinique Moisture Surge Face Mist. Very hydrating and helpful.

Lastly I go in with creams to lock everything in. I like more rich creams instead of water creams or hydrating gels. I love the Dr. Roebocks FACE cream it's very light weight. It's certainly rich in texture. I love it. Some others that I like are Lala Retro Whipped Cream from Drunk Elephant it has 6 different oils in it. Fresh Corset Cream is another good choice because it's very light weight as usual. Also Cicapair from Dr. Jart is fantastic if you notice you're having a reaction/itchiness or inflammation and redness.

Now this step is imperative. A sleeping mask. My absolute favorite is Exuviance Overnight Recovery Masque which you actually use before moisturizer, let it sit for 5 minutes and then put on your moisturizer. The others go on last. For those Laneige Water Sleeping mask. It's like a blast of cold air and feels so wonderful. Fresh Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask is also lovely and has soothing qualities specifically.

I tend to use actual masks more than I normally do during this season. So like maybe 3 times a week but I mix it up between sheet masks, hydro gel masks, and mud masks. I love the When gel type of sheet masks, as well as the Miss Spa masks. I like Biobelle sheets masks and Ebanel. For mud masks I like to detox with May Lindstrom Problem Solver,  Shea Moisture Charcoal mud mask, etc. I also like anti-oxidant rich masks like Youth To The People mask, Aveseena Honeyactive Mask, and Farmacy Honey Potion.

,I know we keep it beauty related on here but I just wanted to hop on here and give you a link in case you wanted to donate or help with Hurricane Harvey Relief. There are multiple outlets that are doing good but I personally was really touched by this one specifically. I am a fan of the Supernatural show, but I'm a bigger fan of the charities that have come about because of them. 

I have friends in Texas, actually one of my very best friends, Rhea, lives in Texas. As an American though, I am moved by what I've seen from the kindness to the bravery, Texas and fellow Americans have showed and done in the face of tragedy. It only makes me even more proud that this is my country. 

So I'm going to leave the link below if you want to donate and help the Hurricane Harvey Relief effort. Many love and prayers being sent your way Texas!

Stronger Than The Storms