Hey everyone! I wanted to do a new series of videos and blog posts dedicated to some of my favorite products so I decided to begin my new "HG Spotlight" series with my favorite blushes, the Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed Blushes. I know I can't altogether take credit for spreading the love of these blushes but I'm not gonna lie, these are just ridiculously good.


I first bought these blushes from the Hautelook sale at 40% off and swatched Call Me and Kinky in this post. Then, the next time the sale came around, I decided to buy X-Rated, All Nighter, Bedroom, and Lust as well since I was so impressed with the quality of the first two. A reader e-mailed me to let me know that Hautelook will be having Rock & Republic Beauty sale again on Monday, 7/12 so I thought it would be a great time to post all of my collection and swatches.

If you haven't already signed up for Hautelook, click here for an invite.  Note: Hautelook does give a store credit to the inviter after the invitee's first purchase, but as always I only post when there is actually an event I am personally buying from too. Gotta share those good deals! ;)

As an all-encompassing statement, I will say that this blush line is one of the best quality blushes that I've come across. They are gorgeously pigmented, finely milled, and are long-lasting. The actual amount of product in the pan is literally 2x the amount in a NARS blush, so they last forever. I don't even want to start on the packaging! It's weighty, shiny, and just over-the-top decadent which I LOVE.

The only downsides to these blushes are the availability (You can only buy it online and at R&R specialty stores, or occasional Hautelook sales) and the price (Original retail price is $40. Ouch!) But as I mentioned before, I got mine through Hautelook where they were $24 and compared to NARS blushes which retail at $26, it's quite a nice deal.

So with no further ado, here are the swatches which can explain 100x better than words can. :)


Each blush in biggins glory. So you can see the pretty shimmers. ^O^

Call Me


Bedroom


All Nighter


Kinky


X-Rated


Lust


Check out the adorable necklace I bought from Lisa HQCD's store. I freakin' love the silver branch. Oh, and the watch I'm wearing in the video is from Juny's and the polish I'm wearing is Revlon Petal Peach.



Anyway, hope that was helpful if any of you are deciding to buy something from Monday's Hautelook sale. Let me know if you decided to get something or if you already have any Rock & Republic stuff! Any other suggestions of colors I should get this time?

Hope you guys have a fantastic weekend. :)

So I had mentioned before that I was interviewed and photographed for an article for the New York Times a couple weeks ago and the interview finally came out. I wasn't sure if I was going to post on it because I had just gotten an e-mail from the reporter, Catherine Saint Louis, on Saturday letting me know that my quotes had been cut for space. She was not sure if or if not any of my photos would be published. Much to my surprise, one actually did get used.


It's focused on the lens and not my face so you can't even tell it's me, plus I got no credit on it whatsoever. Ha! And check out the main photo they used. Not trying to be biased, but I guess Caucasians with circle lenses make for a more riveting story, eh? What can I say, she looks adorable in those violet lenses.



As I always say, I hope for the best and expect the worst. I suppose my preaching of positivity and feeling good with a small change didn't fit in with the whole illegal and you could go blind messages that were subtly put in the article. Oh well, still a pretty cool experience considering not everyone gets their photo printed in the New York Times, right?

And I mean, my Sally Hansen pink chrome polish looks SPOT ON. ;D

To check out the full article, visit the Sunday July 4th edition of the New York Times in the Fashion & Style section here. For your own sanity, you may want to avoid reading the super harsh comments. Just warning you.

PS. Happy 4th of July, Americans! It's a beautiful thing to have the freedom to say what you want to say, post what you'd like to post, and be who you want to be. Word up to having liberty and peace out, girlscout!

Hello everyone! Today I have a hair tutorial to share with you. To give a little background on my hair, when I was younger (before puberty) I had crazy long, stick-straight hair. I'm talking butt-length pigtails hanging down from the sides of my head at age 9. It was incredibly stubborn to curl and I did manage to do that a couple times with hairspray-crunchy locks which looked like giant black sausages. SEXY! Okay, maybe that's a little inappropriate as 9-year olds should not be sexy, nor attempt to be sexy but I do assure you that my hair was the opposite of sexy. I could go further into this but long story short, I know what it's like to have hair that just won't seem to keep a curl.

After I got into my teens my hair started doing this weird straight-wavy thing where it couldn't make up its mind until it finally settled into my current inconsistent waves. Thank goodness it did since I am terribly low-maintenance when it comes to my hair, but I just wish it could do the gorgeous beachy look naturally! Because of this tendency to not take a ton of effort to style my hair most days, I happen to adore the product I'm about to share with you because it's a no-brainer. Perfect beachy Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen waves that I've always wanted? Check. Easy learning curve? Check.


Here's my video showing you how to use the Remington Air Wave, a product that Hannah told me about. It's totally as awesome as she said it was!
If you recognize my hair here, it's because I used the same thing to do my hair for my first Lioele review video. This is also what she used on her hair in my Purple Copper eyes tutorial on Hannah. I got so many questions about it, even people asking me how Hannah did her hair! This is because this dryer is magical and is made with the love of puppies and unicorns.

So here's the low-down on the pros and cons:

The Good
- inexpensive (around $23 on Amazon)
- easy to use
- works pretty well as a regular hairdryer
- AWESOME waves that are difficult to achieve otherwise
- works well for hair that is stubborn to curl
- looks really nice on those with non-layered hair especially
- curl lasts days or until I shower next

The Bad
- a tad bit noisier than other more expensive dryers
- takes up extra storage space
- can make your hair frizzy from air-waving it

All in all, I was highly impressed. I thought only people with naturally perfectly wavy hair could get this hairstyle but look Om-ma! It's not so difficult after all. ^o^

Here's some pics



View from the back. I kind of love this picture. Don't mind my bizarre sweatpants outfit. ;D



And just because she's a charm to end with, here's a little more Mary-Kate Olsen because I adore her. <3 <3


Tell me what you think in the comments! Are you going to pick one up? Have you heard of this before? Do you have naturally perfectly wavy hair that I might want to cut off your hair and make a wig for myself (eww)? Until next time~

UPDATE: I heard people are having difficulty finding the Airwave! I guess it sold out on Amazon. I asked Remington's customer service and they said you can purchase it at Walmart but I'd call and check before you go.