May 2014 – The Hustlin’ Homemaker

Neutral Bronze Eye : An Eyeshadow Trio For Every Budget!

Hi guys! Neutral, bronzed eyes are my go-to look for everyday. I think these neutral tones look good on everyone with any skin tone. Today I am going to share three different eyeshadow trios that are very similar, and all give that neutral bronze look.

As you can see, I have chosen different trios from my collection that are all different price ranges! One is from Maybelline, one from Stila, and one from Dior. All of these trios do a great job and have great color payoff. I think for an everyday look, three colors is all you need to create a gorgeous eye look.

All of these trios contain basically the same shades and are all meant to be used the same way. They contain a shimmery, light brown middle toned shade, and that is meant to be used first, all over the eyelid. Next, the dark brown shade is used to deepen up the crease and smoke out the look. Lastly, the lightest, vanilla toned shade is used for a highlight on the browbone and in the inner tear duct.

Maybelline Expert Wear Trio in Bronze Haze, $5, drugstores

Stila Eye Trio in Mulholland Drive, $18, Sephora

Dior 3 Couleurs Smoky in Smoky Nude, $48, Sephora

There you have it! 3 nice eyeshadow trios to give that bronzed, neutral look!

What is your go-to eye look?

Hope you guys liked this post, and thanks for reading!

xoxo, Amy

The Sponge That Changed My Makeup-Applying Life!

Hi guys! So, as you can see from my title, this post is going to be a rave review on a new makeup sponge I have been trying out. This is called the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the Beauty Blender, which is a pink sponge that retails for about $20 and it supposed to be amazing for applying makeup. I remember trying that sponge a few years back when it first came out, and throwing it away because I didn’t like it.

So, I read a review online about this new Real Techniques sponge, and how great it was, and how similar it is supposed to be to the Beauty Blender. I picked this up from ULTA for $5.99 last week, and I have been using it every single day to apply my liquid foundation.

The reason why I like this sponge so much is because it has an angled, flat side, and a pointy side. The pointy side is perfect for undereye concealer, and the flat side is perfect for patting on foundation.

Here is how I use it:

Ordinarily, I apply foundation first and then concealer, but I have had to change my ways now with this sponge. To apply my foundation, the way that this sponge works for me is to use it damp, buuuut, you don’t want to apply your undereye concealer with a damp sponge. The sponge makes the concealer even more watery and sheers it out too much. So the first thing I do is use the sponge DRY. I dot my concealer under my eyes using my finger, and then I pat it on using the pointy side of the sponge. You don’t want to rub this sponge across your face, because it will just move the product around. The key to this is just to use a short, patting (stippling) type of motion. This blends the concealer perfectly around your eyes.

Next, I take the sponge over to the sink, run it under the faucet, and then squeeze the excess water out. The sponge will be the perfect dampness to apply your foundation. I apply 1-2 pumps of foundation directly to the flat side of the sponge, and stipple and pat it on in short, quick motions. This seriously gives my face an airbrushed look. It is a great and quick way to apply, and I like it even better than using a brush. It gives such an even finish to the skin.

I think this sponge is even better than the Beauty Blender because it has a flat side, and I really like that. Also, the key to using this is dampening the sponge. It doesn’t work at all for me dry. The one con I would say about this sponge is that you have to wash it after every use. It holds onto the product especially since it’s damp. It also stains immediately, and I haven’t been able to get the stains out. This really is not a big deal to me; I don’t care what it looks like!

I love this sponge so much, and I’ve been using it every day…I gave up my RT Expert Face Brush and my Sigma F80 for this, so you know it’s good! You should give this a shot if you haven’t already. It really is awesome.

Have you tried this?

Thanks for reading, have a great day!

xoxo, Amy

***Pictures courtesy of Amazon***

Mani Monday – Neon Pink

Hi everyone! Hope you are having a great Memorial Day Weekend! Today’s manicure is a hot pink, neon color that is so pretty. This color is called Boom Boom Room from Essie.

I love this color, it is such a great neon and looks really good with a tan! I used 2 coats and then applied my favorite topcoat, China Glaze No Chip Topcoat to finish it off.

What’s on your nails?

Thanks for reading! 🙂

New Goodies From ULTA

Hi everyone! I thought I would try a new type of post for y’all. I have seen other posts by bloggers where they go shopping, and then share what they purchased and why. I think these are interesting posts and I hope y’all enjoy it. I recently made a trip to ULTA and I thought I would share with you all what I picked up.

Pink Sequined Slipper Socks – I happened to see these super cute little slippers, and I liked them because they are covered in pink sequins, and they also have the little grippers on the bottom to keep you from slipping. I thought these would be good for my hospital stay in a few weeks.
Christophe Professional Shaping Hair Spray – this hairspray was recommended to me by a friend, and it is supposed to give a great hold without being crunchy at all. I’m excited to try this; it smells really good too.

Not Your Mother’s Knotty to Nice Detangler – I bought this after reading a rave review from Heather of the blog Coconut and Cotton. I am always looking for a great detangler for my daughter because she has very long, curly hair, and I thought this would work good for her. It smells delicious, and I really hope it works!

Neutrogena Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover – I’m sure everyone is familiar with this product. I bought this because I was out of my regular eye makeup remover, and I used to use this kind all the time. It takes off all your eye makeup in one swipe, and it doesn’t leave an oily residue. Love this stuff!

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge – I have been wanting to try this for awhile now because I have heard that it is better than the Beauty Blender, at about a 1/4 of the price. I was surprised to see that my ULTA had a bunch of these after hearing that they were hard to come by.

Essie Nail Polish in Too Taboo – I can’t go into ULTA without buying a nail polish or two. This time I picked up this bright fuchsia color from the 2014 Neon collection. I do not have any purple-pink neon in my collection at home, and I am really excited to try this one. It is like a neon raspberry cream. It looks so pretty!

So, that’s everything I picked up from ULTA!

Do you want an in-depth review on any of the products shown? Leave a comment for me if you do!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Amy

Ipsy Glambag May 2014

Hi everyone!!! It’s time to show you what I got in my May Ipsy Glambag! I freakin love getting this bag every month. I think my heart skips a beat when I see that pink bubble wrapped envelope in the mailbox every month. This month is no exception. I love what I received in this month’s bag, so lets get into it!

For those of you who don’t know, Ipsy is a beauty sample subscription box where you pay $10 a month (you can cancel anytime) and they send you a grab bag full of goodies based on your profile every month. Most of the time they send full size products! The value of what is in the box is always over $10, and it’s a great way to try out new products!

This month’s theme was Beauty’s Fresh Picks and I received 5 items in this canvas bag with a green leaf design on it.

Hang Ten Classic Sport SPF 50 Sunscreen 1 oz Value $2
EVA NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask 60ml Value $12
Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray 1.7 oz Value $3

The sunscreen is not so exciting, but I actually like having these little tubes to keep in my purse. They are perfect for going to the pool and just throwing them in your bag instead of bringing a big bottle. I was really excited to see the hair mask. I LOVE trying out new hair products, and this mask smells soo good, it made everything in my bag smell like it! It has Argan Oil and Keravis Protein, and it says you can use it as a weekly treatment or just daily use. This is a big sample, too. The water spray I was happy to see. I really like these types of sprays to use on a hot day or just as a refresher for the face. This spray says it soothes and softens skin, and to spray it on and then pat dry.

Pacifica Mineral Eyeshadow Duo in Duo #1 – Opal and Celestial Value $7
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer Value $7.50

This eyeshadow duo is so pretty. It has a pinky-cream color and a light gold- bronze color. The pigmentation of these shadows seems really good, so I am excited to try this! I had heard this bronzer was going to be in some bags this month, and so I was really hoping to get it! I think I look at this every time I go into ULTA, but I just can’t justify the $30 price tag when I have lots of bronzers already. This honestly looks just like my NARS Laguna but without any shimmer. I like how it’s matte, so I’ll be able to use it for contouring also. Oh, and it smells like chocolate. I can’t stop sniffing it. Lol.

I paid $10 for this bag, and I received $31.50 worth of products. I honestly love everything I got in this bag and will actually use everything! I can’t wait to try out that hair mask.

What did you get in your May Ipsy bag?

Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Amy