Yes to...Carrots!

I recently realized I was almost out of a few beauty necessities and ran to Target to stock up!  I needed a shampoo, conditioner, body cream, and face cream for day.  When it comes to my body/skin care I make a good effort to use more natural products.  Of course natural doesn't always mean the ingredients are great for you either so I also research ingredients and make a good attempt at purchasing "GOOD FOR ME" products, because I know what works for me.  It took years of trial and error but it was very much worth it. I recommend others do the same but I know it takes patience so I don't blame anyone who doesn't.

The Yes to...line I have dabbled in before.  I purchased the Yes to Carrot Body Butter and the Yes to Cucumbers calming day time moisturizer before and really enjoyed both.  I had some issues using the facial moisturizer at first but once I figured it out it was a really pleasant product and it made my skin look great!  I have also used the Cucumber and Blueberry Facial Towelettes.  Both were very nice but I remember preferring the Cucumber formula.  I knew I wanted to continue to try other products from this line.  Just as an overview:  They have Yes to Carrots to nourish (dry skin), Yes to Cucumbers to soothe and calm (sensitive skin), Yes to Blueberries to help with signs of aging (mature skin), Yes to Tomatoes to help clear skin (oily/combo and acneic skin), Yes to Baby Carrots for baby skin, and the new one is Yes to Grapefruits to correct and repair (uneven skintone, lack of brightness).  You can check out their products and company info at www.yestocarrots.com.  I usually purchase their products at Target.

So onto my purchases.  I purchased Yes to Carrots Scalp Relief Shampoo and Conditioner.  Not to be mistaken with the original shampoo and conditioner but these are NEW! (Blushingpixie, one of my favorite youtube gurus uses their original shampoo and conditioner and she loves them as well.  I got the idea to try out the hair care from this line from her. Link to her channel...http://www.youtube.com/user/blushingpixie)  They promise to soothe a dry, flaky scalp in 7 days!  It nourishes the scalp, tea tree soothes and calms, and as a result you should have healthy gorgeous hair!  Well...I have to say I am impressed with this stuff.  I have fine hair that struggles with dryness and oiliness and it is a B*&^% to deal with!  Most natural hair products made my hair feel more dry and the synthetic products were just weighing my hair down.  I find that these products do make my hair feel smoother and easier to manage.  And my scalp and hair feel tamed and well balanced now.  I am VERY impressed and have not felt this way about hair products for over 3 years.

The Amazing shampoo and conditioner!

I also purchased the Yes to Carrots Nourishing kit.  This kit includes the Super Rich Body Butter, the Rich Moisture Day Cream, and the Exfoliating Cleanser.  The body butter I enjoy and have previously used.  The day cream I am in love with.  The cleanser is the only item I am still uncertain of.  The body butter keeps me moisturized and comfortable throughout the day.  The day cream was something my skin had really been craving.  My skin has been SO DRY this winter.  I try to balance my skincare out by not overdoing it with moisture because I easily will.  I use heavier creams at night and try not to over do it during the day.  But my skin has been craving moisture so much this season and this day cream is a heavier nourishing cream without feeling heavy on the skin.  It sets really well and makeup goes on smoothly.  This cream does not include a sunscreen but I enjoy this for now as my primer and foundations often do.  I know I can use this cream day or night if needed so right now this fits perfectly into my daily face routine.  The cleanser is the only one I am not convinced of yet.  The smell seems a bit more off to me, which is not a big deal as these scents never linger any how.  But I feel the cleanser itself leaves a residue on my face that I don't enjoy at the moment.  I feel the need to use my toner right away after.  The small bamboo pieces are not rough on my skin but I am very careful about the use of scrubs on my face as they can often break me out or scratch my face.  Some products don't work out well as a scrub because the ingredient used may not be ground up evenly which can lead to scratches (often undetectable) on the face.  Any how, I will continue to use this here and there and see if it grows on me but for now I have a daily cleanser that I very much enjoy.

The Nourishing kit

The Body Butter (top) and the Day Cream (bottom)

Overall I love these products and have been so impressed with the line.  I have to say the hair products are the big winner for me this time around but I will continue to try other products from this line.

MAC Cosmetics - Recent Collections

Haven't been doing much shopping lately, especially not the cosmetics kind, but there were a few collections being released by MAC that I definitely wanted to check out.  I know this post is late but I strongly feel these products and opinions are worth sharing.

Taste Temptations

This collection featured a lot of dark colors, specifically dark blues and purples.  I liked the color scheme to this collection and was really looking forward to trying out some products.  I have been in the mood lately to try out more deep blues and purples but sometimes find I have to ease myself into new colors so I only purchased two products from this collection, both quite tame.  I was interested in the blushes and gel liners but didn't have time to go to a MAC store to view the products in person first so I ended up ordering online after many google image searches, and only ordering the two products I knew I would love.  I purchased Nocturnal Instincts mattene lipstick and Good Times lipglass.  Both purchases I am very much enjoying.

Good Time Lipglass and Nocturnal Instincts Mattene Lipstick

The lipstick is just purple enough where I am stepping out of my norm but still has a nude quality to it that keeps it from being too bright.  The formula is beautiful and I find that it lasts really well and does not dry out my lips.  This item is no longer available on the MAC website.

Good Times lipglass is probably the most "boring" item out of this collection but when I read the color description it immediately reminded me of another lipglass, Glamour for all, I had purchased from MAC awhile ago that was also limited edition.  I love these sort of nude muavy colors right now but have a hard time finding them.  Many of the nudes I encounter are just plain nude and the muavy colors don't tend to run nude at all.  Glamour for all was a perfect color but I have just the one I purchased and don't want to use it all up.  So I decided to order Good Times and see how it measured up.  They aren't dupes at all but I find they run in the same color family.  I remember thinking Glamour for all may be too gray muavy when I purchased it but Good Times is even more so.  Years ago I may not have liked it but as my taste changes I find this color works really well on me.  This item is still in stock on the MAC website.

Strength

I am in love with this collection!  I wanted to get so many more items from it but what I did get I absolutely love!  The MAC website states that this collection is "fearless, elegant, and strong" and I would have to agree.  I really wanted the All Woman eyeshadow quad and this was the main reason I made a trip to the MAC store for these last two collections I am mentioning, as they launched on the same day.  I am in love with this quad and am now curious to try the other one, "Inner Strength".  These quads are still available on the MAC Cosmetics website.

The All Woman quad has three colors in it that I have been looking for!  I love khaki taupy green colors if that makes sense and this quad really brought these colors together.  The quad includes the colors Flawless Figure (veluxe pearl), Brains & Brawn (Matte), All Woman (Satin), and Black Magique (Velvet).  I love the variety of finishes they included as well.  Flawless Figure is the palest color and I was the most uninterested in this one as pale colors don't always suit my skin tone unless they lean towards a yellow or pink undertone. Stark whites usually don't enhance anything for me.  But I still enjoy this color for the inner corners of my eyes as it really brightens and looks great especially during the winter season.  Brains &Brawn I love!  I have been looking for a matte taupe that isn't too cool or too warm.  This one does it.  All Woman is also a color I have been looking for!  A green gray color which again perfects that khaki color scheme.  And finally a deep black with warm undertones.  I usually don't go for dark colors with warm undertones because again colors tend to turn more red on me, but I knew this warm black would tie in the other more cool and neutral colors well.  And warm blacks are hard to come by and now I see, quite fun to use.

All Woman eyeshadow quad and Absolute Power lipstick

The lipstick I had planned on taking a look at.  Absolute Power sounded like the perfect red.  To my surprise this lipstick runs a more pink red on me.  Most reds turn into an orangey coral on me and I have problems finding a red color that will stay true on my lips.  This color did not turn out to run a true red on me but I still fell for the elegant pinky red it turned to.  This item is unfortunately no longer in stock on the MAC website.

Apres Chic

This collection I waited patiently for as I knew it included the well known and hard-to-get Stereo Rose mineralize skinfinish.  I already own one and use it quite frequently but I wanted to purchase another.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it for myself or sell it but I knew I wanted to get my hands on another one, and that I did, surprisingly.  I expected them to be sold out by the time I rolled into the MAC store mid afternoon but they actually had a few left.

Clockwise from bottom left: Stereo Rose newly purchased and unopened,  Rich Experience  pro longwear eyeliner, Black Ice pro longwear eyeliner, Gentle mineralize blush, and Stereo Rose open and used from a previous collection.

I honestly didn't expect to love the eyeliners as no eyeliner stays on me but it was worth a shot.  I also rarely ever find a brown liner that doesn't turn a reddish color on me but this one is a very deep dark brown and swatches beautifully.  I actually really like these eyeliners.  I wouldn't stay they are 100% smudge proof on my eyes, but nothing is.  However these do a really good job and I don't have to touch up as much as I would with other eyeliners.  MAC's pencil liners are known to be very good for smudging so I was very impressed with these as they actually set well.  These eyeliners are still available on the MAC website.

Gentle mineralize blush is beautiful and it gives me a beautiful rosy winter glow.  It's a rosy color that leans almost purple and I love that!  I am really trying to go beyond my typical pinks and have been experimenting with a lot of purple this year.  It looks beautiful on lighter skin tones and darker as I had a coworker test it out as well.  This item states it is out of stock but is available for purchase with a delay in the shipping.

And of course, Stereo Rose, I am never disappointed in this.  It's a beautiful coral color with gold veining.  The veining does look a bit different in the new one I purchased but that is the case with all of the mineralize products.  This item is now out of stock on their website but porcelain pink is still available.

Stereo Rose Mineralize Skinfinish - previously purchased 

None of these collections disappointed me and I would have loved to purchase more items from each collection but I am not necessarily in a position of needing anymore makeup right now. :)  I love all of the items I purchased though and have been using many of these products every single day since I bought them.  I am overall very satisfied and that is very rare when I purchase multiple products.  The MAC collections have not been disappointing, to me, for awhile now.  I hope this review was found to be helpful and that many others are also enjoying these products as well! ;)

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES ~ The Anticipation

This is a fitting post to begin with.  Although The Amazing Spiderman is coming out first.  And Avengers has been out for some time now.  Ultimately TDKR is the movie I have been waiting for.  Still am.  I am excited about this movie for numerous reasons but I am also weary for plenty of reasons.  I could go into grave detail about all of the potential issues or criticisms but there are already about a million posts online devoted to that.  I am going to stick to the basics, or my basics rather.

When Heath Ledger passed (May he rest in peace) before the release of The Dark Knight many were saddened and wondered how the great Christopher Nolan would continue the Batman movies and if any villain would be able to live up to the performance that Heath Ledger left behind.  I was one of those people.    Now I understand the actors in TDKR are all phenomenal (I was a huge Inception fan), and I really want Bane, Cat Woman, and Talia's roles to turn out beautifully.  But at this point it's still hard to tell how well these characters will be portrayed.  I'm not worried about their costumes or how hot they will look.  I am wondering if I am going to get so sucked into their roles that I can feel like I am a part of them, the way I did with Joker (yes, I can find ways to relate to anyone, even the Joker).  If I will actually develop a deeper understanding for their characters while I am watching the movie, rather then what I know of them from research or comic books.  And that leads me to my next desire I have for this movie, or any movie.

Will this movie pull me in and make me feel like I am there with them?  This may sound odd, but this point is the most important thing for me to truly love and appreciate a movie.  I have to get pulled in, so far, that when the movie ends I have to "run back" to my seat in the theater, barely realizing that I was actually sitting in a theater full of people.  Nolan's movies have usually always done this for me.  His work has always impressed me.  So I strongly feel that TDKR will do the same.  HOPE SO.

Finally, I am saddened that this trilogy will be coming to an end.  I am excited for the movie but once it's over, that's it.  Not to sound like a complete fan geek but I grew up on Batman movies and Nolan's have been my favorite.  I love the actor's he cast; I love the story lines; and most of all I love how dark and real he has made them.  I want Christian Bale to continue his role as I love the even darker twist he is able to put on the role.  But I understand this too must come to an end, so I accept it.  But I hope that whoever chooses to make Batman movies next 1) chooses an excellent Bruce Wayne/Batman and 2) makes it dark as hell!  And of course I have other expectations but there you go.  The above seem to be my priorities for now.