Salut! I'm Layla, author of this blog. I write about beauty and fashion but also try to add in some different posts every once in awhile to break it up. I have a twitter and a youtube which I'll post links to. Be sure to follow me on twitter and subscribe to my youtube. Enjoy the blog! (: http://www.youtube.com/user/foreverachild03
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About Me

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I'm a girl who is interested in the usual things... makeup, hair, skincare, boys, tanning (no sun! obviously (: ) and the not so usual... geography ( I can be handed a blank map of Europe and name every country... yes, even Czechoslovakia ), spelling, drawing, swimming, philosophy, Greek mythology, history, and traveling. I decided to get this blog to kill time and I hope it's fun. Let's cross our fingers!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Favorite Brands: Drugstore, Midway, and High end.

I own many different products from many different brands but there are a few brands that I tend to prefer far more than some others. We all favor some brands even though we may not realize it. Some people will scream for dior and some people are happy with revlon. It's all personal preference and here are my preferences.

Also, this is a summary posts. I will posts more in depth details of these companies in the future. This is also only for makeup and not for skin care. If it included skincare I'm sure I would go on forever. Thank you!

Drugstore:

I tend to purchase more drugstore products than any others because they're cheaper and you're probably in Walmart more than Sephora... but I don't know... I live reallyyyyyy close to a Sephora.

Almay-

If you didn't know, Almay is owned by Revlon. I've never been a huge fan of Revlon but I LOVE Almay. In fact, my favorite foundation just happens to be their Smart Shade foundations. (The anti-aging, smart balance and the regular.) I've tried a ton of their face products and I haven't disliked one yet. I'm not a huge fan of their eyeshadows because I haven't tried a lot of them, but I love their other eye products and face products. A downside to this brand is that they only have one lip product, but I tend to stick to balms and mac lipsticks so I'm not too disappointed.


http://www.almay.com/

Hard Candy-

Hard Candy is a brand that is only available at walmarts but I absolutely love it. I haven't found a product from them that I dislike. Can't say much more. I own tons of products from this brand and will for sure, buy more!

http://www.hardcandy.com/
Runners up:
Wet n' Wild
L'Oreal- Great Mascaras!

 Midway:

These are brands I don't necessarily consider high end, but aren't sold at drugstores.

MAC-

Everyone knows about MAC. Great quality products most of the time, versatile, and works for individual consumers or makeup artists. Love. <3

Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush and VS Beauty-

Every time I go to the mall I have to stop in Victoria's Secret. I love everything about that store! Their Beauty Rush products are fun and high quality and the same goes for their VS Beauty products.

http://www.victoriassecret.com/beauty/beauty-rush
http://www.victoriassecret.com/beauty/vs-makeup

High end:

I own the least products from this end of the spectrum because of course, everything is bigger better and most importantly- has a higher price tag. I'm just going to tell you these two because I don't own many products fro each of these and don't feel like I can speak for the entire brand but I love the products I do have.


NARS
Chanel

Other:

I know what you're thinking, what the heck is in other? Well, for me it's things like Forever21's love & beauty line or icing's and claire's makeup.

Claire's Makeup-
Most of it is pretty cheap but some of it is quite amazing. Just be wary. If it looks too little kiddish I wouldn't buy it. Later I'll do a post of things I own from here, things to get, and things to avoid.

Icing Makeup-
Icing is owned by Claire's and is often described as the "big sister" to Claire's. I love their bronzers, individual eye shadows, and their brushes. I'll do the same for Icing as for Claire's although generally, the quality here is better.

Forever21's Love&Beauty-
I love love&beauty. All I can say for now. Great quality and really tops the list.

http://www.forever21.com/category.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_name=beauty_viewall&Page=all


So that's it! Feel free to leave a comment telling me your favorite beauty brands! Byebye! (:

-Avec l'amour de Layla

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Review: Maybelline FitMe Foundation

Ok, let me start out quick and simple. I HATE HATE HATE Maybelline for making foundations. Now onto the actual review.

Maybelline's Claim:

"Let's the real you come through. This foundation is beyond matching: Fresh, breathing, natural skin with SPF 18."

They also claim you'll love it because it's:

"It's makeup that fits you."

Then they include this list (of absolute nonsense)
  • No oils, no waxes, no nonsense
  • Natural coverage that leaves skin the way it was meant to be…fresh, breathing, natural  
  • Exclusive translucent base and lightweight pigments allow skin's natural highs and lows to show through
  • Non-comedogenic, dermatologist-tested
When I first tried out this foundation, I loved it. It was everything I was looking for. It was light, smooth, natural looking, dewy, and brilliant. But that night, we started having issues just like a couple who has just come out of their honeymoon phase. I had FIVE breakouts that I didn't have that morning! I hadn't changed anything else in my routine. It had to be the foundation that was causing this. I NEVER have more than one breakout at a time, if I even have one, which is rare. I have normal skin, no oily areas, no dry areas, and I am the farthest thing from breakout prone. Plus, I never react badly to any products. So, like any beauty junkie does, I began my research. My first stop was the Maybelline website. Now, this claims to be non-comedogenic (fancy shmancy talk for won't clog your pores), to have no oils or waxes, and to let your skin breathe. I was absolutely puzzled! If this foundation had none of the common red flags (like containing mineral oil, or not say it's non-comedogenic) then why am I breaking out?! Are my teenage hormones flaring up or something?! For reassurance, I logged onto youtube and started watching reviews. Every review I watched included the words, "this foundation broke me out". So, I figured, it's the foundation, and stopped using it. My blemishes disappeared within two days after discontinuing the use of the product. Since then I've been breakout free.

Now, this experience wasr oughly a month ago, so why am I just now writing a review? Well, about a week ago my mom asked if she could use it. I warned her that it had caused me to break out and she told me that it was probably a coincidence and to hand over the makeup. I simply said, "tell me when you breakout". Surely enough, she comes to me a few days later and says eight glorious words. She said, "You were right about the fit me." YES! Told you! After that I was positive it was a horrible foundation and that I could spread the word not to waste your 8 dollars on this.

So, bottom line, DO NOT purchase this foundation. Product photos below.

Review breakdown:

Maybelline's claim:
This foundation is breathable, lightweight, and is no nonsense when it comes to ingredients.

PROS:
  • Lightwieght
  • Natural
  • Glowy

CONS:
  • BREAKS EVERYBODY AND THEIR GRANDMAMA OUT.
  • Fades after roughly 4 hours
  • Settles into fine lines and wrinkles
Ratings:
Packaging- 4 out of 5 stars *****
          ~Sleek.
Wear- 1 out of 5 stars *****
          ~fades after 4-6 hours.
Initial look- 4 out of 5 stars *****
          ~Dewy, natural, & nice.
Price- 4 out of 5 stars *****
          ~$6-$8 The only foundation cheaper that I know of is Covergirl Aquasmoothers. (Amazing!)
End of the day look- 0 out of 5 stars *****
          ~Foundation was almost gone, had settled into pores, and had caused breakouts!
Look of skin after use- 0 out of 5 stars *****
          ~Horrendous! Had caused 5 major breakouts!
SPF- 3 out of 5 stars *****
          ~Has more than 15, but not the recommended 30. Average.
Shade selection- 5 out of 5 stars *****
          ~18 shades, from 110 to 335. Note: shade 110 is only carried in Walmart stores.
Overall- 1 out of 5 stars *****
          ~The pros outweigh the cons.


Product Photo:


Note: I purchased the shade 110: porcelain.

Links:

Maybelline's FitMe page: http://www.maybelline.com/products/92/face/foundation/fit-me-foundation/ivory/115?shadeId=494&cm_mmc=LabeliumSearch-_-GoogleBrand-_-MNY+Face-_-fit%20me%20foundation


 -Avec l'amour de Layla