December 2015 – The Hustlin’ Homemaker

Best Of Beauty 2015

It’s time for my favorite post of the year! 2015 has come and gone, and I have tried out a ton of new products, and brought back some old favorites. Here are my picks for the best beauty products of the year!

Bumble & Bumble Pret a Powder – this powder is not only a dry shampoo, but a texturizer and volumizer too. It has a fresh scent and won’t leave you with sticky residue in between washes. I love that it is a loose powder, so you don’t run out as quick as with the aerosol cans.

Paul Mitchell Hot Off The Press – not only is this hairspray amazing at holding my style all day long, but it’s also a heat protectant! I also love that it has a nice floral scent to it.

LUSH Big Sea Salt Shampoo – hands down, the best clarifying shampoo out there. Not only does it get all the buildup out of my hair, but it adds a ton of volume AND smells like the beach! I will never be without this magical potion.

Simple Cleansing Micellar Water – I love this because it takes off all of my makeup without leaving an oily residue behind. On the nights when I am too tired to wash my face, I take this on a cotton pad and rub it all over, and it cleanses my face without needing to rinse.

Elizabeth and James Nirvana White Eau de Parfum – a blend of florals and light musk, this perfume is so sophisticated and pretty. The bottle is so chic, and the scent lingers all day long. Love this.
Benefit Boxed Powders – Hoola and Hervana – Hoola is a light brown matte bronzer that is perfect for my fair skintone. I contour and bronze with this, it never makes me look muddy, and blends like a dream. Hervana is a beautiful blush that swirled together makes the perfect everyday pink. It’s like a blush and highlight in one.

ELF Illuminating Palette – this palette has some amazing highlight colors. There is a shade for everyone, no matter what skintone you are. Each shade compliments the skin and gives you that glow we’re all wanting.

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder – this powder helps to keep me shine free all day, while giving an airbrushed look to the skin. Since it is translucent, it doesn’t add any color, just blurs the look of pores and imperfections.

Benefit Roller Lash – this tiny wanded mascara does BIG things for my lashes. It is super black and adds a ton of volume and length to my lashes. I usually prefer drugstore mascaras, but I make an exception for this bad boy.

Burberry Eye Colour Wet & Dry Glow Shadow in Nude No. 002 – this shadow puts all others to shame. This is the most gorgeous metallic taupe-y gold color ever. One swipe is like buttah on your lids and it stays put all day. If you spray your brush with a little MAC Fix Plus before applying, the color gets even better.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Pencils – I have been reaching for these more than my precious UD 24/7. So pigmented and creamy, and they stay all day long. I love these for smudging out my lower lashline.

Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Clueless and Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain in Always Red – this year, I was on the matte lip train (I still am) and I tried out a lot of matte liquid lipsticks. These were my two favorite formulas. They stay so long on the lips, they are the least drying, and they are such beautiful colors. Clueless is a true my lips but better color, perfect for everyday. Always Red is such a great pinky toned red that makes me feel chic and sophisticated when I wear it.

So, that’s it for my favorites of 2015!

I want to say thank you for sticking with me for another whole year. Stay tuned for some great content next year!

Happy New Year!

xx, Amy

NEW Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Palette | Review + Swatches

Today I am going to be showing you the prettiest, most girliest eyeshadow palette ever, the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Palette.

Too Faced is one of my favorite makeup brands because of their amazing quality products, but also, THE PACKAGING. They suckered me in with the pink case, but then they had to go on and make the eyeshadow pans hearts! Done. Not to mention, like the two previous Chocolate Palettes, this one also smells like delicious chocolate.

When I saw this palette on Instagram a couple of months ago, I knew I would love to add it to my collection. I showed my four year old, Allie, and she LOVED it, so she made sure to pick that out as her Christmas present to me.

This case is made of metal, so it is very sturdy and nice. It has a magnetic closure and is a beautiful pink shade.

Inside you get a nice mirror and 16 shadows. Two of the 16 are larger highlight shades. I love that Too Faced does that in their palettes, because those shades are used with every look.

So let’s look at all of the colors. Both large highlight colors are shimmery, but the lower right-hand one, Divinity, has very fine shimmer and almost gives a satin finish. The other, Satin Sheets, is very shimmery.

Almond Truffle is a light tan matte shade, perfect shade for crease/transition.
Cashew Chew is a lighter tan color with very fine shimmer. This color would be good to lay down on the lid to cancel out any redness or veins you might have.
Dark Truffle is a deep rich shimmery brown, great for deepening up the look.
Satin Sheets is a champagne gold highlight that is absolutely beautiful in the inner corner of the eyes.
Cotton Candy is a shimmery medium pink that looks so pretty underneath the lashline or as an accent color.
Pecan Praline is a really nice crease color. The shade is a matte light gray taupe.
Cafe Au Lait is a shimmery silver color that is amazing as a lid color. I wore this color on the lid on Christmas and got lots of compliments.
Totally Fetch is a hot fuchsia pink with fine shimmer. This would be a really fun pop of color in the summertime.

Sprinkles is a light baby pink with shimmer. This color I also use to highlight my inner corners and it is so pretty.
Bordeaux is a deep burgundy wine color. This color is matte and would make a really nice smoky eye.
Earl Grey is a deep teal with shimmer that would look so pretty smudged underneath the lashline.
Molasses Chip is a beautiful gold, chock full of shimmer. This is probably my most used color of the bunch. Perfect pop for everyday.
Mocha is a medium brown matte color, good basic color to have for transitioning or deepening up your crease.
Divinity is a cream colored shade with very little shimmer. I am able to use this on my browbone, and I don’t like shimmery browbone highlight shades.
Malted is similar to Dark Truffle, but lighter, and with less shimmer.
Black Currant is a deep purple with fine pink shimmer. This color is gorgeous.

Here are all of the colors in order:

All of these shades are super blendable and creamy, and the shimmer ones don’t leave fallout at all. I find that the shades last all day on me, with or without a primer.

I am very pleased with this palette, as I am with everything I try out from Too Faced!

This palette retails for $49, and is currently sold out at Sephora and Ulta, but still available on the Too Faced website here.

Have you picked up this palette?

xx Amy

Play! By Sephora | December 2015

I’m so excited to share what’s in my December 2015 Play! By Sephora beauty box.

In case you don’t know, this box is $10 a month, and they will send you 6 deluxe size samples from prestige brands. You don’t take a quiz or anything, and you can’t select what products to receive. There is currently a wait list for this box, so sign up here to get on the list to get your box ASAP!

You’ll get the same lipstick printed box each time, and inside is a neat little book that tells you all about the products. It also gives tips and tricks for using each thing, which I love!

Let’s jump into December’s Box!

Smashbox Full Exposure Eyeshadow Duo – I was super excited that they included this in the box! This duo includes a matte brown color and a shimmery gold color, and they look beautiful! I have the Smashbox Double Exposure Palette, and I love it, so I’m sure I will love this too.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes in Matte Black – this is a really good eyeliner, it is super black, and stays put all day. I have it in a few colors, and it’s one of my favorite eyeliner pencils. This little size is perfect to throw in my purse.

Dr. Brandt Skincare Poredermabrasion – this is an exfoliating product that is supposed to deep clean pores to reveal a smoother skin texture. This is a really nice size, and I’m excited to try it- I’ve never tried anything from the brand, but I’ve heard good things!

Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb – I love this perfume, it’s one of my all-time favorites. It is floral and fresh, but sophisticated at the same time with patchouli and vanilla notes. I really like getting these little samples to keep in the car.

Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil – I love this brand, and I’ve heard good things about this product in particular. This oil is supposed to lock in moisture while protecting and smoothing the skin. Can’t wait to give this a try!

Nude Skincare Advanced Renewal Serum – this comes in 7 little packets (1 per day) and it is a lightweight serum that is supposed to firm and renew the skin. It also helps prevent visible signs of aging. I like how they give you 7 treatments, that way you can really get a feel for the product before you buy it.

So, it seemed like this month’s box was heavy on the skincare side, which I like! I’m happy with everything I received, especially the eyeshadow duo.

Have you signed up?

View November’s Box here!

Thanks for reading 🙂

My Top 5 MAC Lipsticks + Dupes

I will always love MAC lipsticks. They were some of the first high-end lipsticks I ever bought, and they are just amazing. Every color and formula that I own is great, especially the ones in the Lustre formula, which is my favorite finish. MAC has tons of colors to choose from, and who can resist that iconic little black bullet? So chic. Here are my top five!

From left to right: See Sheer, Ladybug, Pink Plaid, Hug Me, Sweetie

See Sheer is my o.g. I have purchased probably 5 tubes, and it is just the perfect sheer, coral-red. It doesn’t make my teeth look yellow, and it is super moisturizing and smooth. A dupe for it is Maybelline Colorsensational in Park Avenue Peach. I compared them here.

The next color is Ladybug, my favorite red. This is a nice, deeper toned sheer tomato red. This shade is good for my fellow pale girls who like red, but don’t want to look scary! Haha 🙂 a dupe for this one is the Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple. Comparison here. These are both sheer and very moisturizing.

Next up is a matte finish, named Pink Plaid, a dirty blue toned pink with a hint of mauve. This is a matte finish that is non-drying and this color is a great pink that isn’t as light as a baby pink. A dupe for this color is the Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in Make Me Pink. Here is the comparison.

From left to right: See Sheer, Ladybug, Pink Plaid, Hug Me, Sweetie

Hug Me is a brown-y nude with a hint of pink. It is a darker nude, so it won’t give you that “concealer lips” type of look. This is also a Lustre, so it’s very moisturizing. A dupe for this one is Rimmel’s Airy Fairy, which is a very popular color. Here they are side by side.

Lastly, we have Sweetie, which is a purse staple for me. This is a pretty, berry purple-y pink with some shimmer. The color is similar to MAC’s Syrup and Plumful, which are also faves 🙂 This is very sheer, but you can build it up. The color is so pretty and great for everyday. A dupe I have found for this one is Revlon’s Lip Butter in the color Berry Smoothie. Check out swatches here. I love the Revlon Lip Butters.

So, those are my top five! Do you like MAC lipsticks? What are your favorites?

Love MAC Lipstick dupes? More here.

xx, Amy

EAT | Shake’N Bake Potato Wedges

Today I have a super easy dish for you! These are my “shake ‘n bake” potato wedges. They are healthier than french fries, but just as delicious! Let’s get started.

What you need: