New Boscia Pore Purifying Black Strips

Remember when we first reviewed Boscia's Black Mask. If you don't click here. That little boy still thinks I'm the boogy monster and runs every time he sees me. Anyway, I really ended up loving that mask and I still use it once a week. Now Boscia has released their new Pore Purifying Black Strips.I used to have ridiculous amounts of black heads on my nose, (seriously a lot of times many estheticians could never extract all of them because there was just so many) but with regular facials and treatments, they aren't as bad as they used to be. However, I've still got some.

Why am I trying to look sexy in this pic when I have a pore strip on my nose?

These Boscia Black strips contain Charcoal powder (like the mask) that draw out impurities and detoxifies, silica which controls excess oils and Witch Hazel which is a natural astringent. I was so excited to try these. (Like I said before I loved that mask!)So I quickly put the strip on my nose and played with lil man. He kept staring at me with a weird expression as if asking:.

After about 15 minutes of Lil Man trying to rip my nose off, I removed the strip.
Here it is, loaded with massive gunk. Yuke!

I really like these strips.
They definitely get the job done. 

Hugs,

Milly

Product sent for review. 

Motives Liquid Powder Foundation SPF 15 & Weekend Update

Hey loves, how was your weekend? Mine was pretty good. I'll talk more about it at the end of this post. Anyway, last weekend, I attended The Makeup Show which was such an amazing experience. So many brands, and artist showcasing their products. One of the booths I visited was Motives by Loren Ridinger. Now we’ve interviewed Loren in our entrepemom feature before but I had never tried any of her products. When I visited the Motives booth, I was told that I HAD to try the Liquid Powder Mineral Foundation with SPF 15. So I was matched to the Honey Bronze shade and went on my way. This product is supposed to be 5 in one. Primer, Concealer, Foundation,  SPF and Powder. I can honestly say using this, I didn’t need to use concealer on my hyperpigmentation marks as this gave some amazing coverage. 

I also liked that this blended into my skin beautifully. The color was an exact match to my well... honey bronze complexion. Although this was full coverage, it didn’t look like I had makeup on at all, just  gorgeous second skin and this didn’t feel heavy on my skin. I really liked that this also  contains antioxidants like Vitamin C and E. The  best thing was the longevity I got from wearing this, I had this on for at least 10 hours and it still looked wonderful. I would highly recommend this product. Here's the link to the product.

After 10 hours with this product, still going strong. Excuse my eyebrows. Trying to grow them.

Anyway, how was your weekend. 

Mine was ok. This weekend was my grandpa's bday so I went to his bday part on Saturday. As you girls know my grandmother (abuela) recently died, so this was the first year in 58 years that my grandpa had to celebrate his bday without her. But my family (which is huge) tried to make it amazing for him. Isn't family great?

Speaking of my abuela, friend to the blog actress Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls, The Princess and The Frog) walked the Asthma walk on Saturday in honor of my grandma. My grandma passed on April 6 of Ashma. April 6 will forever be known as one of the best days of my life (wedding anniversary) and one of the worst (day abuela died). Anyway, I was supposed to go with Anika but lil man was not having it. He woke up so grumpy on Saturday.  Here's the interview we did with Anika a few years back and here's her asthma dedication page.

A new Home Goods opened in my neighborhood  on Sunday and at 7:30 am you should have seen the line. Well I took a pic for you. 

It was two blocks long. 

All in all, a good weekend.

How was your weekend?

Did you do anything fun?

Hugs, 

Milly

Ruby Kisses Very Sexy Mascara-Great Mascara for under $5

Drugstores are seriously kicking butt when it comes to their mascaras. Last week at The Makeup Show, I received a sample of Ruby Kisses Very Sexy Mascara  in my blogger goody bag and I was honestly shocked at how well this worked. I believe this retails for like 3 bucks. At first when I saw the brush, I wasn't too impressed. It looked pretty basic. Yea it had a lot of fibers but nothing that I hadn't seen before, and come on, this product is like 3 dollars. It can't perform that well....or so I thought!

When I first applied, you should have seen my face. My mouth was wide open in shock!  (Kind of how I felt when I found out Arnold Schwazenegger cheated on his wife. Can you believe that sob?) Anyway, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This $3.00 mascara was giving me results close to a mascara that I have that's over $20. Finally I just had to put the more expensive mascara on the other lash. And when it came to lengthening and volume, well wow, this mascara beat out the more expensive one, hands down. Lengthening, Volumizing, No clumping, EVERYTHING a mascara needs is in this, except that this isn’t waterproof. When I rubbed my eye during the middle of the day, I had a lot in common with a raccoon.  If there’s a waterproof version of this, I’m on it. This mascara is so good, and for under 5 bucks, holy moley!

To the Left is my $22.00 mascara to the right is Ruby Kisses $3 Mascara

Hugs,

Milly

Winner of Joico Iron &Updates

Hey guys,
Sorry the winner of Joico Iron is coming two days late.
I've been insanely crazy! 
Winner picked my random.org is Comment #41
which is NYCCurls.
Please be advised, if you did not win don't worry, In honor of my 4 year anniversary coming up soon, we're having some serious giveaways.
Anyway, next week, here's the deets, we are doing a few things:
1) Updating you on makeup, I've been trying since The Makeup Show. I like to try makeup on for a week before I post a review.
2) New Hair products.
3) Drugstore Beauty
4) What I did over the weekend.
5) 5 Makeup Tips for the spring from a celebrity makeup artist.
And more.
6) Lil Man is 11 months, and my decision not to vaccinate him for MMR until he's older and why.
And more.

Hugs,

Milly

My WPIX Segment & Vision Board & Tamsen Fadal

Hey guys,
I've been a huge fan of WPIX morning show for years. Recently I've decided that yes I love reporting, but what else do I love, BEAUTY, so why not try to be an on-air beauty correspondent. Since one of my favorite stations is WPIX, two months ago, I added WPIX on my vision board, and also put a pic of me next to the morning show anchor/reporter Tamsen Fadal. I love her because she's not only a top anchor, but she is the author of this fantastic book that all single women should read called "Why Hasn't He Called?" and she and her husband run a match making service in NYC called The Love Consultants. Anyway, guess what happened today. My vision board came true. I did an on air beauty segment with Tamsen Fadal. Here's the clip:

  


I hope this will help you start your vision board.
They do come true.


Hugs,

Milly

The Makeup Show Day 1 & Weekend Review

FYI: Please note blogger was down last week for a day so we are a little behind on our posts. Also if you left a comment for the Joico Dryer giveaway, you may want to re-check if it's still there, as blogger deleted over 40 comments on May 12th due to their problems. 

One of my favorite parts of the year is The Makeup Show. It's a pro only event where thousands of makeup artists come to check out  hundreds of brands that unveil their latest and greatest products or just offer their products at a discounted price. You also really get to see some gorgeous  work from other artists.

I got to talking to a few  brands, and here's what's going on with them.



Stila

Huge trend this season is bright bright eyes! Whether it's eyeshadow or liner, the brighter the better. Stila is releasing the first ever pigmented waterproof glitter eye liners. These are designed to stay put no matter what you do, even after SWIMMING. They come in 8 different shades. Here are swatches of some of them:

They are also releasing their Perfect & Correct Foundation. It contains some major ingredients like ginseng, gingko biloba, and hyuloronic acid which is a great skin humectant. Stila says Perfect & Correct offers lightweight, buildable, and long-lasting coverage while improving the look and feel of skin.

Makeup Forever

Their newest product is the Aqualiner. It's a  waterproof eyeliner that is designed to stay put no matter. what you do and comes in 15 different Shades. They also revealed their Uplight.

Uplight is an additive. (Meaning you can add it to something like your foundation or lotions or use it alone.) It gives you gorgeous luminous skin. It comes in three different categories: The teen category is  very sheer and light. The two series, 21, 22, 23, a little more shine, the three series a lot of shine with sparkle. These are water based.


Motives by Loren Ridinger

I never knew that Motives customizes their foundation to your skin tone. If you have skin problems, they will also add products that will improve your skin health. They had some gorgeous eyeshadow colors. I picked a few of them up and will review them soon.

HissyFit by Reggie Wells

I was so close to Oprah this weekend!!! Well not really. But her makeup artist Reggie Wells was at the show with his line Hissy Fit. A line he specifically made to help Oprah because she didn't know how to apply her own makeup. We'll give you a review of what we think soon.

If you go to the Makeup Show today  Monday May 16th, Reggie is actually doing a great seminar called A Career in Makeup. This is the man behind OPRAH!! You Should go!

 Kevyn Aucoin

The Kevyn Aucoin  brand revealed to me that they are revamping their whole line and their packaging as of Feb 2012. Not sure how I felt about that. I loved their products already and to me their packaging looks so elegant and gorgeous. Change is not always good. But oh well. We'll see....


Smashbox

Smashbox revealed their Creamy Cheek Trio.  A gorgeous set of cream blushes at an amazing price. $48.00 bucks.

We'll try to make it to round 2 today at The Makeup Show today.

Here's what I did this weekend:

After the show I met up with Cassie and we took a walk around the city. We spotted this unbelievable statue in the park.

 

 The statue is  called Echo and was created by Spanish designer Jaume Piensa. It depicts his 9 year old neighbor lost in a state of thought. It was so beautiful. 

After that, I came home and tried to teach my lil man how to sweep the house. Hey I need help around the house too.  

Sweeping wasn't his thing.

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Hugs,

Milly

Keratin Perfect-New Product to Watch Out For!

Premiering This Week at Sephora

A lot of you girls have e-mailed me about keratin treatments. I haven't had it done, nor will I, but here's a new product coming out next week in Sephora which allows you to do it at home. 

KeratinPerfect, the first-of-its-kind at-home keratin smoothing system and product collection!

 

According to Keratin Perfect PR "There is nothing else like this on the market as it is ONLY created with good-for-your hair ingredients (absolutely NO formaldehyde) while infusing 40% keratin back into the hair with each use. KeratinPerfect also promises to cut blow drying and styling time and half, while de-frizzing your hair."

 

In addition to the at-home smoothing kits, they will also be introducing a full keratin-rich product line for everyday use.

 

This might be something to look at if you're interested in trying keratin.


Hugs,

Milly

Win a JOICO K-PAK QUADRAION BLOW DRYER Retail over $150.00

You girls know how much I love my Joico K-Pak Flat iron. Remember when I reviewed it! It rocked Linette's (name I gave my hair) world. If you don't remember, click here.
I absolutely loved that flat iron and still use it to this day. My hair still looks and feels incredibly healthy after using it.
Well Joice has now introduced a new K-Pak Quadraion  Blow Dryer. This is the first and only Keratin infused Hairy dryer. Joico says "The revolutionary new Joico K-PAK Quadraion PRO-Dryer gives hair plenty of smooth, beautiful control…and takes nothing away. In fact, thanks to an infusion Keratin found in Joico’s unique Quadramine Complex® technology, combined with negative ion technology, moisture is restored, frizz is reduced and strands are actually conditioned during the drying process."

So this hair dryer will actually make your hair healthier. I'm intrigued!!

Anyway, Joico is giving one away here on BeautyLogic. This dryer retails for over $150. But one of you lucky girls will get it for free.


Just leave a comment here about anything you like.

Winner gets announced next Monday May 15th.

PLEASE READ: IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT MAY 12, IT WAS DELETED BY BLOGGER. OVER 42 COMMENTS WERE DELETED SO PLEASE CHECK TO SEE IF YOURS WAS ONE OF THEM. PLEASE RE-LEAVE YOUR COMMENT. DUE TO THE BLOGGER ISSUES I AM EXTENDING THIS GIVEAWAY TO THE 18HH

Goodbye Cystic Acne, It Wasn't Nice Knowing You!

A few months ago, I was devastated. I don't know what was going on, but it seemed like every day I had a new cystic pimple.These are the zits that are real bumpy, hurt like heck, and are  really embedded in your skin. When I went to see my Doctor about a totally unrelated issue, the first thing he said to me was "Wow, you've got some major zits let me refer you to a dermatologist." Unbelievable! Anyway, I was so scared to touch them because I know how badly they can scar. However, I would head to my Doctor, and she would give me coritzone shots like every week. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. These zits were taking over my life. No amount of makeup, could cover all of the bumps I had and I was tired of getting needles to my face every week (that can't be good). I knew I had to take control. These zits  were downright embarrassing. Before continuing, let's get something straight, I'm not a Doctor, I'm a beauty writer,who loves all things beauty. If you decide to follow this, just remember that. These are things that worked for me, to get rid of those horrid bumps and I'm currently working on my hyperpigmentation story next. My doctor told me my zits were hormonal and I should maybe try birth control or accutane. Negative. I was breast feeding (although I had to stop recently due to a health issue). You girls know that I'm a beauty reader. I do tons of research on skin health, hair health, and just overall beauty. So with that research, this is how I went to work on my zits.

1) Every single morning/night, I washed any trace of makeup off of my face using my Clarisonic

(God I love this thing), or an exfoliator. Two  of my favorite exfoliators was Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser or Kate Summerville's Exfolikate which contained tea tree oil. But I'm sure you can get less expensive options. Those are just what I used.

2) I began taking Zinc Capsules  and fish oils. My favorite was Barleans Pina Colada Fish Oil. Man this taste good. (First time, I've ever looked forward to taking fish oils). Now, I recently ordered, Barleans Mango Peach. Sounds Yum. Anyway, if you are wondering, why I used Zinc, and fish oils, because both are powerful anti inflammatory pills. Also, I drink coffee, and zinc is depleted in your body when you drink caffeine. Here are some reviews from people who have used zinc to help/cure their stubborn acne http://www.acne.org/zinc-reviews/200/page1.html 
and here are the reviews on people who used fish oil http://www.acne.org/fish-oil-reviews/402/page1.html

3) I made sure I never ever missed a morning smoothie. Loaded with vegetables and fruits that benefit the skin, it was a must for me.  Before I wouldn't drink my smoothie on the weekends because I wanted to eat brunch out (NYC has the best brunch on Sat and Sunday) but nope, I made sure to drink it every single day and just said forget the brunch.

4) I did not stress over it. STRESS WILL MAKE YOUR ZITS WORST. BELIEVE ME. I"m really lucky that I have a very supportive family. When I would cry about my skin, they would reassure me that  I was still beautiful and that this too shall pass. Guess what, it did. I haven't had a cystic zit in months.

5) I also made sure I washed my face brushes constantly. That's really important .

A lot of people think that your skin health is based on what you do topically. That's not true at all. If that was the case, then why are the most effective treatments for skin, pills. Take care of your inside, and your skin will show.

6) Thanks to my reader hypnotic, she reminded me about pillowcases. I wash mine at least twice a week with a non-fragranced cleanser. 


Hope this helped.

Hugs,

Milly

I will be writing my hyperpigmentation story soon.

Winner of Yager Spa $200 Gift Card

chosen by my aunt is Ericka V

Ericka V, please email me within two days or we'll have to give this to someone else.
for those who didn't win, you know how we do here, we're having more giveaways soon.
This week we're giving away Joico's newest K-Pak hair dryer.

Hugs,

Milly