HOW TO: Long Luscious Eyelashes

Ok so like I promised in the blog before this I told you guys I would be writing a post on how to get luscious eyelashes!!! Every girl wants long pretty lashes!!! Now we do know there are fake lashes but to me I feel like I only put those on when there's a special occasion like girls night out haha. But anyway lets talk about the products I use to get these fabulous lashes I'm talking about. So before we get into the obvious mascara talk I'm going to share with you guys what I put on my eyelashes at night to make them soft and what I seem to think makes them grow longer...faster! Using petroleum jelly better known as Vaseline. I know it might sound crazy but it works I'm telling you. I put about a dime size amount of Vaseline on my finger and rub it on my upper and lower lashes. I saw major results in about a month! Good business! I wish I had before and after pictures but I guess you're going to have to trust me on this one and try it!

Now on to the mascara, I use three different mascaras. I use Covergirls lash blast I think that's what it's called the writing had worn of. It's the one in the orange tube. Also Loreal's Original Voluminous mascara and finally Lancôme's Hypnose (which is my favorite it makes your lashes look ten times longer...YAY!).
The CG lash blast gives me that thickness that I really like (sometimes I find myself using this one by itself if I don't want my lashes to full but not to vava voom...like if I'm going to church).

While Loreal's Original Voluminous mascara and Lancôme's Hypnose give me great length.
Use all these three mascara's together and you'll get those infamous perfect lashes you've always wanted. You'll have people wondering if you have fake lashes on! Haha

Well I hope you guys liked this post.

A little update: School has started for me soooo posts won't be as regular but I'll try my best! For the next post I'm thinking...leopard nail tutorial!

Key tip: Make sure you don't let your lashes dry in between putting on another mascara...crusty lashes are not the move!lol

July Favorites!!!

So I've been gone for a little while...and I really have no excuse other then being lazy haha! But with that being said I have a treat for you guys! I decided to do a July favorites since July is well gone so I wanted to fill you guys in with some of the products I bought last month. Like I've said plenty of times I LOVE trying new things and this month I decided to share the top 2 things I absolutely couldn't get enough of in July.

Ok so the first product I'm going to talk about is the Lorac TANtalizer baked bronzer. I wanted to pick something that would make my face look bright and sun kissy...if that's a word haha. So I looked around in Ulta and found this product peeping at me...it was fate! I loved how the product looked. It has a marble design with a range of different colors from a golden brown to the brightest of golds! Ahh I can't get enough of it. Especially since its summertime and you want to look bright, bold and beautiful! Great choice of words I know but it is the bomb.com!!! Well enough with that product on to the next!

The next product is Loreal's eyeshadow in Deep Mocha #830. I know this is an eyeshadow but I was looking for a matte brown color so that I can possibly contour with it. For a while, I thought of contouring as doing the most but one day I came across a lot of beauty gurus on YouTube doing it and they were looking fabulous! So neat and clean! The way they were contouring really made their cheek bones stand out and it looked natural. One of my favorite beauty gurus is nguerriero19. Her contouring video is flawless! Although this color is a little dark I think it's a great eyeshadow...and great for contouring on occasion but not for everyday use I'm still looking for that one. I'll let you know when I find it of course.

* This is coming out a little darker then it really is. It's more of a medium brown lol

I hope you guys liked this post. I have more in store...and I'll give you a hint luscious eyelashes!!!Thank you for reading!

The LIPS!!!

Hey guys this post is going to be alllllll about the lips! I'm going to tell you what I use to prevent cracked lips, irritation as well as what I use to make them look fabulous!

So I have very sensitive lips and what I put on them is a big deal because if I don't take notice to every little ingredient then my lips will get irritated...not a good look! With that being said in my lip gloss I look for jojoba oil this ingredient is amazing it really moisturizers and treats your lips! It gives your lip that tingly clean feeling that I absolutely love.
Sorry if I haven't mentioned it earlier but I'm a lip gloss kind of girl and I'll take lipstick over lip gloss any day! But I do love the combination of both lipstick and lip gloss its simply gorgeous!

What I use:

Who wants chapped lips? I know i dont...I hope nobody does haha anywho! To prevent chapped lips after I wash my face at night I put Carmex on my lips so that at night while I lay cozy in my bed my lips are being healing and getting ready for the day ahead! Basically anytime I feel like my lips seem to consistently get dry I put on Carmex. It works rather well!

Now for what lipsicks and base I use on my lips before I finish them off with lip gloss. I always base my lips with vaseline kind of like how I always base my face with primer it's a neccessity. Then time for the color thats where the lipstick comes in I love to wear neutral colors, colors that look natural and resemble different skin tones, a barbie pink (like in the picture above), and some burgundies! I tend to stay within these colors...I know slim pickings but I like what I like what can I say! I don't have a specific brand but right now as I'm looking through my makeup bag I have quite a few Revlon products, Maybelline and Studio Gear.

Then there is my one and only lip gloss!!! I only use one lipgloss at a time because like I mentioned earlier my lips are senstive and lip glosses usually irritate them the most so yea one is good! I use Urban Decay's Stardust Lip Gloss in Andromeda.

This lip gloss is THE best it adds so much shine and volume. The smell is fresh and minty! And it lasts FORever...I've eaten...slept with this gloss on and its stayed on for the most part. This product by far is the best I've tried on my lips in a while so when I finish that tube I'll proabably stick to Urban Decay's brand. They have two other colors Glitter Rock and Space Cowboy they both look fabulous!

So thats about it pretty simple! It's just a matter of finding out what products work for you and which one(s) you favor the most!

As always thanks for reading and talk to you soon!

Quick Beauty Tip: It's Summertime why not SPARKLE!?!?!

Hey again so the title of this post explains it all! I figure it's summertime right? So why don't we add a little glam to ourselves. Personally I love to sparkle and shimmer. And for all of you that love to shimmer too this product is just for you! It's called Victoria's Secret LOVE SPELL Shimmer Lotion. I bought this lotion when Victoria's Secret was having there big blow out sale so I don't know for sure if they still have this product but if they do your going to want to buy it. Like I said earlier I like to sparkle but of course I don't over do it there's no fun in that. I take about a dime size amount in my hand and rub a little on my chest, arms and back. This is just enough for someone special to take notice or for you to stand out a little among your friends! It also smells amazing and gives you that glow every girl wants!

Thanks for reading as always! And leave a comment let me know what you think...about anything I would love to know!

The Essentials: Pur Minerals

Hey guys so I'm back been gone for a little minute but I'm so excited about this new The essentials post. Ok let's jump right into it. We've covered the different primers, foundations and how I fill in my eyebrows now its time for me to tell y'all how I set my face using Pur Minerals pressed powder, powder blush and mineral glow(highlighter). Well let me tell you a little bit of why I started wearing pressed powder because I know a lot of people just wear liquid foundation on their skin but liquid foundation by itself was leaving me shiny and blotchy especially in the summertime...which is code for not flattering. I figured if I found a nice pressed powder to set the liquid foundation everything would stay in place and leave my face fresh looking and Pur Mineral's Pressed Mineral Makeup in Deeper does exactly that.

Don't think that they don't have a wide selection of colors I was pretty surprised on how many they had and specifically for women of color. And you might be thinking well what is the difference between Pur Minerals and Bare Minerals and to me personally it's a huge one. I have tried Bare Minerals before and my face appeared ashy particularly in photos and just really dry so I immediately stopped that brand and reverted back to Pur. Also a lot of people skip the color pressed powders all together and decide to use translucent pressed powders because finding their exact skin tone can be difficult. I've actually tried translucent powder before and really liked it but of course went back to Pur Minerals because Pur gave me extra coverage that translucent powder didn't. As you can see I do like trying new things even if one works almost perfectly I always think one can work even better. Everyone is different so what works great for me might not work as well for you but there is no harm in trying it out! Just make sure you keep your receipts and return those suckers if it doesn't work out so you won't be losing out on loads of money.

I also mentioned powder blush and this is a product of Pur Minerals too along with the mineral glow I mentioned earlier.

These two products go hand and hand with me. I don't use one without the other because they go so well together. Let's start off with the powder blush Pur Mineral has so many different versions of blush but my favorite is their Marble Powder in Spice it shows up so nicely on my face and is long wearing. I mean it doesn't fade at all! It is very matte and that's what I want especially since I'm putting on a mineral glow too. Now let's talk about the Pur mineral glow I pretty much put it on my face as a highlighter, right on my cheek bones and a little on my nose. I feel like this step brightens my face and complements the blush. Don't be fooled by the picture I have above its not that  light it actually has more of a bronzer like undertone to it.

I absolutely love all of these products and they really are great for your skin so lightweight. I can honestly say I've never gotten a huge breakout from Pur Minerals. I hope you guys venture out and try something new and you don't have to try all these products at once to be honest I wouldn't advise you to. It can get kind of pricey. Just remember what I said try new things but make sure you keep that receipt because if it doesn't fit your criteria take it back!hahaha
Thank you guys for reading and I will talk to you very soooonnn!!!

Sightseeing...ain't nothing but a thing!

Hey guys I just wanted to give a little update on where I've been. Soooo I'm in New Jersey...for an internship and I am so excited because I was able to make a quick trip to NEW YORK CITY!!! Excuse my excitement I haven't been in NY since my cousin's wedding and I'm pretty sure I was only 3 so therefore I don't remember anything . So when I got the opportunity to visit I jumped on it! By the time I got back to my apartment I had immense pain in my back, legs, and feet! But don't fret it all became but a memory once I took that Advil PM! So with that being said I'm going to be MIA for a little while but I'm going to try my hardest to get a new The Essentials post up for y'all!!! Talk to y'all soon and thanks for reading!

Updated Haircare Pics...with GF hair protector spray!

Hey guys! I promised about a week ago that I would put up some pictures of my hair, before and after using last week's HAIR TIP product! So this will be a short blog post but I have some great ideas for some upcoming ones so keep your eyes open for that and of course feel free to email me with anything you want me to touch on again or talk about!

Fresh wet hair...with no makeup on...don't judge me!haha

Yello! Here I have blow dried hair and just sprayed the GF protector.

Annndd the final result with my hair flat ironed!:)

Ok thanks for reading and talk to you guys soon!

HAIR TIP: Protect your hair!

So we all know that flat irons, curling irons and blow dryers can be damaging to our hair. I mean think about it you're putting crazy levels of heat on your hair and probably more than once a week. My flat iron alone can go up to 450 degrees. Pretty scary huh?
So how do we fix this you may ask? I've got it...thermal heat protecting spray but not just any heat protecting spray...Garnier Fructis's Sleek and Shine Flat Iron Perfector is personally one of my favorites if not the best I've tried.

I love flat ironing and curling my hair! I'm actually a little addicted to it because I find myself doing my hair when I'm going absolutely no where but enough with my personal problems! I spray my hair with this before blow drying andddd flat ironing my hair. It's when I use this product then flat iron my hair is when I see the most effect. It really is amazing.

 My hair will look brittle, dry, all things you don't want your hair to look like...

But once I use this spray and begin to flat iron my hair it immediately turns into this flowy shiny vibrant healthy thing! Garnier Fructis's Sleek and Shine Flat Iron Perfector brings out everything great and fabulous in your hair, one strand at a time!

Now I know I'm backtracking a little but like I mentioned earlier I also use this product before I blow dry my hair I spray it on when it's 50% dry and 50% wet. So that when I blow dry it I get a soft feel to my hair! I probably will do an updated post on this just containing my before and after pics of before blow drying after blow drying and the final product! So look forward to that!
Even if you don't flat iron and curl your hair as much as I do you're still going to want to protect it when you do use heating products...I'm pretty sure it will help you in the long run.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!

Skin Care: Products of the Week

Soooo I didn't make a post last week on the skin care product of the week...to make up for that I'm doing two products this week.

The first product is Neutrogena's Acne Stress Control Triple Action Toner. Over the years I've learned that Neutrogena's products work pretty well with my skin, leaving it fresh looking and 100% dirt free (that's always a plus haha). Also I've mentioned before in my blog that I'm trying to lighten my dark spots on my face caused by acne...this product helps to correct this as well. I only use this product at night simply because I know it's correcting a lot on my face with that being said there is no reason to bring the sun in the picture. It's not the best combination to have a ton of product on your face or a strong one like Neutrogena's Acne Stress Control Triple- Action Toner and wear it outside. Your skin may not have the best reaction. Trust me I know from experience. Finally, this product is reasonably priced and you get a lot for your buck!

Speaking of the sun and Neutrogena. I have the perfect product that protects your face from the sun and is a Neutrogena product as well. It is called Neutrogena's Healthy Defense daily moisturizer. I found out about this product from my dermatologist. She suggested I try this product because I needed a moisturizing face lotion that contains a lot of SPF and is slightly a little thick on your face so that it will protect your face all day long! And boy was I surprised this product did everything my dermatologist said it would and then some! I absolutely loved how even looking my skin looked when I was in the sun all day, whether it was me gardening...laying out on the beach...jogging I felt good knowing my face wouldn't break out from being in the sun because my skin is so sensitive. This product is a little pricey for such a little bottle of moisturizer but it's definitely worth it! So if your the outdoorsy type this product is just right for you!

Remember Summertime is just around the corner so get your skin care products in check and enjoy the weather!!!
I hope you guys liked this weeks products and thank you for reading!!!

HOW TO: Funky Nail Art

Hey everyone I figured I haven't done a post on anything dealing with nail designs yet so here it is!

Summertime is almost here!!!...with that being said I wanted to try something different on my nails. I love nail art and trying new things so I looked up crazy designs on youtube and found a lot of people doing marble nail art. It's this cool way to create designs on your nails without using nail art polish with those tiny brushes, gel nails, or any other precise technique...all requiring you to hold your hand incredibly steady. This technique I found relatively easy and fun! So let me tell you step by step what I did! I narrowed it down to 10 easy steps!

1. Here are all the materials you will need to successfully do the marble nail art. Gather them all up in the beginning so you won't be looking for everything during the process.

2. Buff your nails to ensure you have a smooth base.

3. Apply tape on the skin around your nails because this process can get a little messy otherwise.

4. Now its time to base your nails with a color (white is preferred but I chose to use a shimmery white).

5. In your choice of cup (container) pour ROOM TEMPERATURE water into it.

6. Take as many nails polishes you want (I chose three) and simply drop a little of each color. Do two cycles of this or as many as you want but two is recommended.

7. Then take a toothpick and use it to move around the nail polishes in the water to make a design. When you've finished making your design place your finger on top of the design and submerge it into the water. Blow on the water for 10 seconds then use another toothpick to collect the excess nail polish in the water.

8. Take your finger out of the water after the 10 seconds and look at your creation.

9. Wait for your nail to dry and remove the tape (I found it easier to remove the tape with the little scissors pictured above).

*Optional step-Determining how messy your nail is use q-tips and cotton balls with nail polish remover on them and clean around the nail.

10. Then put your clear nail polish on and your ready to show them nails OFF girlfriend!!!

Thanks for reading you guys and I will be making another post soon!

The Essentials: The eyebrows honey

The next part to the essentials is the eyebrows honey. Not until recently did I start filling my eyebrows I started because I went a little overboard with my tweezers and when I looked back in the mirror I barely had anything left...bummer. So I needed to fix the problem. I was in my college dorm room with no use of transportation which lead me to resort to Amazon. I was determined to find the cheapest jet black eyebrow liner and I did. I purchased NYC's Kohl Brow/Eyeliner pencil and let me tell you it definitely does the job and I have been filling them in ever since!

When I fill in my eyebrows I try to achieve thickness but have them still look somewhat natural at the same time by following these steps:
1. The first step is to brush out my eyebrows so that all the hairs are in place.

2. Next you begin outlining the top of your eyebrow as well as the bottom...and with this step a lot of people choose to make their eyebrow wider by drawing a much higher line but I choose to outline just a little above my eyebrow to the point where its barely even noticeable.

3. Then start lining the front half of your eyebrow...mmm this part is hard to explain. The picture I inserted below for this step should hopefully completely visualize it for you.

4. Now I'm betting your probably saying this looks so obviously drawn on and it does so the next step is to use a finger I use my index finger to pat down my eyebrow this step allows the eyebrow to look natural but still thick.

5. Finally its time to clean it up! This is when concealer becomes my best friend! The concealer palette I use is called The Professional 15 Color Concealer Camouflage Makeup Palette.

I use the first color in the fifth column to clean up underneath my eye and the second color in the fifth
column to clean up above my eyebrow. I use two different colors simply because I like it to look a little lighter under my eyebrows so that they can look freshly waxed, plucked, threaded, etc. And I use a color closer to my skin tone above my brow so that I wont have a harsh line right above my brow.

*Optional step: Sometimes I will apply Maybelline's Great Lash Mascara in very black to my eyebrows to set my brows in place but most days I forget. It doesn't make much of a difference.

Now add some eyeshadow to compliment those big bold eyebrows and your ready to go!

This is the first step: No makeup

This is the second step: Outline the top and bottom of eyebrow

This is the third step: Where you fill in front half of eyebrow

This the fourth step: Simply pat down the eyebrow to make it look more natural

This is the fifth step: Add your concealer

Put some eyeshadow on and your ready to GO!

Thanks for reading and talk to y'all soon.
* Sorry for the camera quality just getting the hang of it.

NAIL TIP...perk your ears up

Ok guys this is an important tip that I just had to share with y'all. Have you ever done your nails...perfect and everything but they haven't completely dried yet? Then unfortunately nick your nails on the bedpost, door, or whatever furniture seems to get in your way when you have freshly painted nails? I was watching a clip of something on TV and they had solved the problem and its not Sally Hansen's Quick Nail Dry polish because we all know that polish tends to leave unflattering bubbles. Anyway, the solution: Cooking Spray! Can you believe it? Any brand works fine I've tried Pam as well as Walmart's Great Value brand. You are going to want to wait about two minutes after putting your clear top coat on and then just lightly spray over your nails. Instantly they are dry and I don't know exactly what happens during this process but I've narrowed it down to possibly magic...:)! But seriously try it out see for yourself, just make sure you wash your hands afterwards and voila!!!

And as always thank you for reading!

Skin Care: Product of the week

This week's product that deserves some great recognition is Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque. I absolutely love this product for many reasons:

1. Reduces dark spots...I'm currently trying to reduce the dark spots on my face that have accumulated over the years from my acne and I didn't want to use bleaching creams or any other harsh chemicals to achieve this. So after weeks of using this product daily I saw a big change in my dark spots from week one to week four. Which is a lot better then waiting for an affordable bleaching cream to take effect after months of using it!

2. Achieve smoother skin...with this mask the longer you leave it on the better your skin feels and looks. One night I accidentally left this mask on my face and I usually don't do this because my skin is extremely sensitive and I tend to breakout. But to my surprise my skin turned out smoother than its ever been...all smiles. I believe the longer you leave the mask on the more time it has to really take effect but I guess that is with a lot of things.

3. Lastly but certainly not least is the price and the availability. This face mask is practically everywhere and affordable too. I found the best price at Walmart but it is also on Amazon, Ebay, Target, Walgreens...you name it! I can't say enough how much I love great products for a fair price...its like having your cake and eating it too!

If you haven't tried Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque I advise you to give it a try see if you like it hopefully you will have great reviews to say about it like me!

Thanks for checking out my blog and talk to you soon!!!

The Essentials- Primer and Foundation

Ok so let's talk makeup and it only seems fit to start in order on how I apply my makeup...the first is PRIMER!!! When I first started wearing makeup I didnt realize how important primer was especially for someone like me with combination/ oily skin. Without primer my makeup would wear off within the next two hours and that was if it wasn't an extremely hot day outside. I didn't put two and two together until I did my research...on youtube looking at tutorials and seeing the affect primer has. So literally the next day I went out to ULTA and bought myself a primer. The first primer I bought and I still use to this day is Benefit's the POREfessional primer ( this is great for anyone with large pores...me!). The primer feels so silky against your skin and it smells pretty good, which is always a plus. It definitely does what it says by minimizing your pores and trust me mine could use some minimizing. I also use Smashbox's Photo Finish primer. This by far is my favorite primer. It is so lightweight and fresh feeling. It blends so well into your skin leaving the perfect base for your foundation!

Speaking of foundation...let's talk about which foundations I use. Yes, I did say foundations. I do use more than one foundation. I'm some sort of a perfectionist so I don't think just one foundation will ever satisfy me even if it matched my skin tone. I just feel like more than one ups my chances on achieving that flawless face that well all strive for! So the first foundation I use is Revlon's Colorstay Normal/ Dry Skin in the color Cappuccino #410. It can't be said enough how much I love this foundation. In the winter time I use this foundation but in Combination/Oily skin. I switch it up when spring and summer come because the Normal/Dry Skin foundation is a lot more lightweight where the Combination/Oily skin is a lot heavier and in the summer time in Charleston, SC the last thing I'm going to want is a thick melting made up face (whatever that means...just having a lot on your face). I love this product because it gives you so much coverage with just a little dab and coverage I like! The next foundation I use is Loreal's True Match in the color Cappuccino #n8. Now this foundation is a little tricky when I mix the two I make sure that I use less of this foundation because it is pretty light in color and if I use to much I'll look like a ghost and that's not the move so I have to be extra particular and careful. But when these two are together they are a PERFECT match! And yes both these foundations are drugstore..which means affordable and I love jumping on that bandwagon. There's no need to beat around the bush makeup is expensive so where I can cut down the costs I will!!!

I guess that sums up the first of several parts of the Essentials to makeup. Thanks for reading and talk to you soon!

Just call me NeeCee

Hey everybody welcome to my blog...In A Nutshell, where I basically talk about all the fun stuff like makeup, fashion, nails, hair, etc. I consider myself a girly girl and have always loved getting dolled up. I love sharing tips with people and decided to start a blog! I'm going to be summing everything I know and like about all these things and putting them...In A Nutshell!!!

Now to tell you a little bit about myself my name is Janiece but you can call me NeeCee. I am 20 years old. I was born and raised in Charleston, SC and am currently a rising junior majoring in Mathematics/Pre-Med at the illustrious Spelman College. I love relaxing, spending time with friends and family, and of course getting dolled up!

I am excited to be starting a blog and promise to stay committed to updating my blog regularly...I guess easier said then done...

Thanks for reading and welccooommmeeee!!!