June Favorites!

June is almost over. This month went by surprisingly fast. I spent a lot of time watching the World Cup. Now that gli Azzurri have been eliminated I'm not as passionate about the sport right now because my favorite team is out. That last game was horrible and I'm still not over it. I could rant about this all day but it would be irrelevant. Anyways, I don't have many favorite beauty products this month. I have one rediscovered favorite and two new ones to share.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

This is one of my favorite foundations. This month I picked up a new one because I was out if this for awhile and I was reminded of how much I love this foundation. I love that the bottle comes with a pump. I don't hate that it's glass but it can be a downside if you're accident prone. The formula is really good. I would say it's medium to full coverage. I find it easy to apply and blend out. It just makes my skin look better. It seems to last all day on me. Overall it's a good foundation.

Maybelline Master Hi-Light Blush in Coral

This blush is basically your bronzer, blush and highlighter in one. It just gives you cheekbones and a nice glow and warmth to your face. I just swirl all the colors together and apply it with an angled blush brush. Sometimes I go back in and put some of the lightest shade in there on my finger and use it to add a little more highlight. At first I thought this shade would be too orange on me but it actually ended up looking really pretty. I wouldn't call it coral. I would say that it's more of a terracotta color. It lasts all day. It has becomes my favorite drugstore blush. I would love to try more shades from this range.

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudist

I was so excited when I saw this at my local Shoppers. I bought it even though it was $16 (I got 10x the points so that was good). I've heard youtubers rave about this particular shade for a long time and now I understand why. It's a warm toned nude and it ends up looking like my lips but better. It applies easily and looks very glossy but it's moisturizing and it doesn't feel very sticky. It's like a glossy lip balm. You don't even need to look in a mirror when you apply it. I would recommend this to anyone.

Random Favorites 

TV Shows:

Chasing Life

Movies:

The Fault in Our Stars

Blended

Music:

More of You - Colton Dixon

Red Dress & From the Backseat - Lucy Hale

Everything Will Change (Gavin DeGraw cover) - Anthem Lights

All That I Am - Rend Collection

God I Look to You - Bethel

Youtube:

missglamorazzi's Quick & Healthy Summer Recipes 

5 Things You Never Noticed in Pixar Movies 

Recipes:

Bang Bang Chicken 

One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta 

Chocolate Carrot Muffins 

Sincerely, JoJo. ♥

The Feel Good Tag

I saw this tag around and thought it was a good one because it's a good reminder to be positive and think of all the good things that life has to offer.

Name one thing you like about yourself.

I like that I have a positive nature and I can find something to be happy about every day. Even if I'm having a bad day I'm able to think of something good that happened. I'm a strong believer that there is something good in every day.

Name two things happening within the next year that you are looking forward to.

In 25 days I'm going to Florida for two weeks. The last time I was there on vacation was back in 2010. I really missed it. I'm so excited to be going back. I can't wait to walk on the beach and swim every day. It's so peaceful and relaxing.

In November my cousin in New Jersey is getting married. I get to go to back to New York City and New Jersey the week before my birthday. I'll get to see a lot of my family that I haven't seen in a while.

Name three things in your life that you are thankful for.

My family & friends, my health, and being born into a Christian family.

Name four things that never fail to make you smile. 

Listening to music like Anthem Lights and Rend Collective, taking pictures, baking, and waking up on sunny day.

Name five things you want to do in your lifetime.

First of all, I want to complete my Bachelor of Education and become a teacher.

Second, I want to be the kind of teacher that inspires her students to learn and strive for greatness. I want my future students to know that they are capable of anything that they set their minds to. It doesn't matter if my students don't remember me as long as they remember the values that I taught them.

Third, I want to see the world. I'd love to visit England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, North & South Carolina, Atlanta and Savannah Georgia.

Fourth, I'd love to publish a Children's book. Last semester I had a course where we wrote our own Children's books and I loved the entire process of making a simple idea come to life.

Finally, I'd like to have a house with a walk in closet/make up area and a big kitchen.

Sincerely, JoJo. ♥

NOTD: Essie Urban Jungle

I've been seeing Essie's Haute in the Heat Summer 2014 collection everywhere. I believe the first time I saw the collection was on Essie's instagram and I was draw to this shade Urban Jungle. It just looked like summer and the beach to me. It's unlike any other polish I own. It's probably the closest to white you can get without being white. Essie describes this shade as and 'irresistible alabaster orchid.' It's a cream beige with a hint of pink undertones. It's paler and less beige than Sand Tropez and more beige than Ballet Slippers. I personally think that it makes my hands look tanned even though I haven't gotten any sun this week (it's been rainy and cloudy here. As I'm typing this it's raining.) so with an actual tan this will look amazing.

With Essie's light shades the formula is usually hit or miss. This one was actually amazing. You only need two coats for full opacity. The first coat applies a little streaky but it evens out once you apply the second coat. I was really surprised because some of Essie's paler assortment require 4 coats to reach full opacity (I'm looking at you Fiji). This just made me like the shade even more. The polish lasts three days with minimal chipping. I'm pretty sure only two of my nails had chipped polish when I took it off. If you like this shade I recommend getting it as fast as you can because it is limited edition. If you love a good nude polish you'll be pleased with this one.

Essie polishes vary in price. I'd say there's between $7.99 and $9.99 depending on where you shop. I got this one for $7.99 because Shoppers was having a sale. Target often has them on sale.

Sincerely, JoJo. ♥

Top 5 Spring/Summer Nail Polish

When Spring and Summer rolls around I stick to similar colours for both seasons. In the Spring I love to wear pastel colours because they look fresh and make me happy. In Summer I still wear the same pastel shades but I also love to have some bright colours as well. I think that in every season you need a good red and a nude. In the warmer months I like my red to be bright and cheerful. I like my Summer nude to remind me of the colour of sand because it makes me think of the beach. Here are my top 5 Spring & Summer polishes from my collection.

OPI Cajun Shrimp

This is the perfect Summer red in my opinion. The company calls it 'a spicy shade of coral'. It's an orange/coral tone of red and it's really bright. It stands out but it's not a neon which means it's still in my comfort zone. This colour is currently living on my toes and I intend to take it with me on vacation. You only need 2 coats for full opacity.

Essie Mint Candy Apple

Everyone has an obsession with this colour and that's because it's unique. It's not completely green and it's not completely blue. It's in between a mint green and an aqua blue. Essie calls it 'a creme de menthe mint.' I'd call it a mint with blue undertones. It's fresh and clean and just looks pretty on the nails. This polish needs three coats to look opaque.

Essie Bikini So Teeny

This shade has become a summer cult classic. It was originally limited edition but last year it became part of their permanent collection. The colour is a cornflower blue with micro shimmer in it. You can't really see the shimmer once it's applied unless you look at your nails really closely. It's a happy colour. You can get away with one coat but I recommend applying two coats.

Essie Urban Jungle

This is my latest nail polish purchase. It's from the Essie Haute in the Heat Summer 2014 collection. If you like the shade I suggest picking it up as fast as you can because it's limited edition. At first you would think that it's white but it's actually a nude. Essie describes it as an 'irresistible alabaster orchid.' It's a creamy beige, a tiny bit on the pink side. It's lighter than Essie's Sand Tropez but it's still a nude. It reminds me of a white sand beach. It really surprised me that it only takes two coats for this to be opaque.

Rimmel Sweet Lavender

If you want to dip your toe into the Radiant Orchid colour family but don't want the boldness of the colour I think this nail polish is the way to go. I would describe it as a lavender with pink undertones. It just screams spring to me. It's the first colour that I wore this Spring. You need three coats to reach full opacity but the polish dries fairly quickly.

Let me know if you have any favourite Spring and Summer nail polishes.

Sincerely, JoJo. ♥

Is it Worth the Hype: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Full Coverage Foundation

The Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation has a lot of hype surrounding it. It claims to give you 12 hours of flawless coverage, full coverage with a weightless texture and it's supposed to give your healthy and natural looking skin. The foundation also claims to reduce the appearance of pores, discoloration and imperfections. It also contains SPF 15, is water based and doesn't have any parabens, sulphates, etc. It's supposed to give you an amazing flawless appearance and have no ingredients that are bad for your skin.

Every review that I've read or watched has been a huge rave about how much people love it. I'm probably one of the few people who actually didn't like it. With all its claims it sounds perfect, so perfect that it seems too good to be true. This foundation is a fail for me. I've actually named it the worst foundation I've ever tried. I know it sounds harsh but this was seriously not good.

First of all it's true that it has a weightless texture. It feels nice when you apply it. You can't even feel it on your skin and it didn't irritate my skin which is why I really wanted to love it. It ended up looking awful on me. It looked so fake. It emphasized all my pores and every single line on my face which makes so sense to me because I'm only 21. I have no fine lines but the foundation made it look like I did. It looked very cakey around my nose. By the halfway through the day my face looked like a got mess. My face looked powdery, cakey and my make up looked like badly applied stage makeup. The foundation is thick and a little goes a long way. It's so full coverage that it gives the skin a fake appearance.

I tried many different ways of applying it and every time I got the same result. I've tried applying it with a damp beauty blender, my Real Techniques Expert Face brush, a stipple brush and my fingers. I thought applying it with my beauty blender would give it the most natural appearance but it didn't change anything. No matter how I applied it, it always looked like I was wearing a mask.

If this foundation works for you then that's great for you but for me it gets two thumbs down. It's $49 CAD. Needless to say I returned it. Sephora has a great return policy and I'm thankful for that. I don't think it's worth the money or the hype. If your skin is combination and dehydrated like mine I don't think you'll like it. Obviously everyone's skin is different so I'd recommend getting a sample of it before you buy it.

Sincerely, JoJo. ♥