BAD BRAND ALERT!!! ***DOVE***

Hey Lovelies!!!

I wanted to take some time out to bring awareness to the DOVE brand. Why? Because DOVE TESTS ON ANIMALS. I know their commercials for the cream body wash, deodorant or what not seems enticing but before you buy please read the following excepts taken from peta.org:

"PETA has now set its sights on other companies such as Unilever (the company that owns DOVE), which has conducted studies in which piglets were purposefully infected with E. coli toxin in order to induce intestinal fluid loss and mice were purposely fed a high cholesterol diet and had cuffs placed around their carotid arteries to inflict injury."


Even now, with all our technological advances, animals are still being forced into restraints and under the knife in the name of "science." Here is another story of some of the inhumane things that other labs, like Unilever would do:

"...veterinary witnesses would later testify in court, many of the monkeys had been operated on for a crude experiment in which their backs were cut open and their nerves severed.One timid little monkey named Billy had both his arms broken and was only able to move by pushing himself along the bottom of his cage on his elbows to get to his food.

The abuses that the Silver Spring monkeys endured were not isolated incidents. Millions of animals are used in experiments every year. All species of animals, from chimpanzees to cats, are used, and more often than not, they are acquired without much thought, housed in abysmal conditions, and denied anything remotely similar to a natural or comfortable life. You can help stop this abuse by making simple lifestyle choices. Cruelty-free living means using all your purchasing power for good"



Horrible right? If this made you as angry as I, here's what you can do to help stop this - Click HERE to sign a petition urging DOVE to stop its animal testing.


Wanna ditch DOVE but don't know where to start? I have some great suggestions for you!

Instead of using the DOVE deodorant brand, try AVON's deodorant!!! Avon has a vast selection of deodorants that I personally have been using for years. Here is a link to may favorite one...best of all? Right now its on sale for $0.99!!!!! Here's the link:

BUY THIS DEODORANT

Instead of using DOVE's lotion and or body wash, check out the selection that Bath & Body Works have. I looooove their lotions, the salt scrub and body wash, their so creamy and moisturizing. Also, you can run the shower gel in the bath tub to soak yourself in after a long and stressful day. It feels so good!

FIND YOUR LOTION AND SHOWER GEL HERE

If you need any other suggestions let me know! Again, I really want to reiterate that I do NOT judge you if you choose not to be cruelty free, I only want you to be aware. You are not any less of a person in my eyes whether you buy from these brands or not, I respect your choices. And for those who have chosen to live cruelty free, and support this cause, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Hope you ladies found this informative and have a wonderful day! :)

♥Leah

Read more...

NYX Blush & Lipstick Swatches (pic heavy!)

Hey ya'll! Hope everyone's having a great weekend. I have been recovering from a bad flu since Tuesday, but I should be back to %100 by tomorrow. Anyhoo, I thought I'd share some swatches from a recent NYX haul I got from cherryculture. I got some nail polishes, lip liners, lip glosses, blush and lipsticks...most of which I am satisfied with. For this post I just swatches the lipsticks and blushes, I will do the others on a different post. Here is what I will be swatching today:

NYX Blush in Pinched & Red, $5

I like these blushes a lot because they give great color pay-off, they're cheap, and of course they come from a brand that does not test on animals. The only down side I would say is that the texture of the blushes are very powdery, and they tend to crumble. They are not as finely milled as MAC but at a portion of the price, there isn't really much room to complain

NYX Blush in Red

The name is misleading because the color of this blush isn't really red, its more of a muted mauve color with a strong brown undertone. I expected this to be a bright red so I was a bit disappointed when I received it. This blush reminds me a lot of Cubic by MAC.

The color practically blends with my skin tone :/

NYX Blush in Pinched

I love this color! Its a light pink coral with gold shimmer...Unfortunately I have a million different variations of light pink shimmery blushes so I don't know if Ill be getting much use of this one lol

Here are some side by side comparisons. Red is on top and Pinched on bottom...

w/ flash

w/o flash

NYX Round Lipsticks in Femme, Pumpkin Pie & Fire, $2.25

I swear I can get enough of these lippies but it just seems like I buy a bunch of them, and then barely use them. Its like I'm collecting crayons or something lol. These have a very creamy texture but are not that long lasting. They also have a strong citrus soapy scent to them that doesn't bother me, but if you're sensitive to smell you may wanna pass

Here's a breakdown of the colors (They are swatched in the pics below by this order):

Fire - Deep Magenta Red, very pretty

Pumpkin Pie - Coral beige w/ pink undertones

Femme - Bright Orange Coral

w/o flash

w/ flash

If you like any of these and are interested in buying them online, now is a great time. Cherryculture, which is the site I purchased these on is having a 20% off sale from now until the 24th. Also, you can purchase these a your local Ulta stores :)

Read more...

Quickie Review: ELF Zit Zapper & Nail Polish in Smoky Brown

Hey loves,

Id thought I do a quick review on two items that Iv'e been loving this week: ELF's zit zapper and nail polish in Smoky Brown.

(pic taken from eyeslipsface.com)

ELF Zit Zapper, $1

I love this! Ive been having tiny break outs for the past couple days so before I go to bed after Ive washed up Ive been applying a thin layer of this stuff. Now this isnt a miracle zapper but I will say that the very next morning after my first application my pimples were  visibly smaller and most of them not even noticeable!

At first I doubted this would work at all b/c of the price but I bought it anyway because it had tea tree oil in it. Why tea tree oil? Because I get attacked on a regular basis with cystic pimples and tea tree oil is just about the ONLY thing that helps.

Cystic pimples, for those who dont know, are the annoying pimples that lay under the skin. You cant pop em (you shouldnt anyway), and it seems they only get larger and more red as time goes by. I was starting to get one on the side of my nose last night so I used the zit zapper on it and when I woke up, the pimple was virtually gone! No swelling, no redness. I could feel a tiny eenie meenie bump (a bump that cannot be seen to the naked eye) but nothing underneath the skin

One thing to note is that is has somewhat of a strong medicated smell but rest assured the smell does not linger on the skin

Im already planning on buying backups, at $1 its worth a try to those who havent tried it already. I included the link to purchase above...if its written in pink, then its a link! :)

(pic taken from eyeslipsface.com)

ELF Nail Polish in Smoky Brown, $1 

This brand nail polish is one of my favorite brands, not only because its free of Toluene, Formaldehyde, and Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), but because its fast drying. Sometimes you can get bad batches of ELF's nail polish where the color appears cracked and/or unmixed but after a little bottle shaking the color will still apply nice and even...buy hey this is dollar nail polish so I guess you get what you pay for. Im no nail-polish connoisseur, the only thing I care about is that the color is nice and its fast drying so if you're really into polishes I would do some research on this brand. Again, at a dollar, its worth trying

Here's a pic I took for my twitter yesterday using this polish. My nails are a bit uneven due to fake nails I got awhile back (which I will NEVER do again!) so this polish is used over a strengthening base coat and NO top coat

 

If you want to buy any polish from ELF's website (or anything with for that matter) I will tell you that the colors in real life DO NOT match the colors on the website. I have a million polishes and other makeup from ELF so let me know what color you're interested but may be hesitant in buying and Ill be more than happy to do a review or send you a pic of them :)

Read more...

I want to subscribe to your youtube!!!

I just created a new youtube account so far only to view other beauty vlogs. Who knows? Maybe one day Ill post one myself :)

For now, I would love to subscribe to your vids so please give me your username! Also, I would love to know who your fave vloggers are

...and of course, my username is TheRoyalBlush :)

♥ Leah

Read more...

I need makeup brush advice!!! (please :))

(both images taken from Google)

My makeup brushes are so disorganized! Since Ive had no profession training (obviously lol) When I do my makeup, specifically my eye makeup, I just grab whatever brush is around and use that. I have a couple of flat eyeshadow brushes and two blending brushes. I take care of my brushes and clean them regularly cuz Im a germophobe but I dont have any clear, designated uses for them. So here is what I would love some advice on...

Eye Makeup Brushes

What brushes do you use and where specifically do you use them (i.e..I use my xxxx brush for my brow bone etc)

What are your must have brushes?

What brand brushes do you recommend?

I would really really really appreciate your advice, and hey, answering those questions seems like a great idea for a blog post!

Thanks again & lots of love!

♥ Leah

Read more...

Photo Booth fun w/ Mochi!

I was trying to make him look like a little pokemon :)

Read more...

I want this kitty sooo bad

OK I know this is totally not related to makeup but I just have to share these pictures. When I moved last month I had to leave my cat at my parents house since the Mr is allergic (my cat hates me anyway because I kiss her too much) and since then Ive really been wanting a cat in the house. I'm a cat person, I could totally see myself as a crazy cat lady so living without a cat makes me feel so empty!

Im planning to adopt a cat when we are all settled. At first I was thinking about buying one, since I want a particular kind of cat but when my dog got lost and visited the SPCA to find him and seen all the poor unadopted kitties I vowed that if I should ever get a pet again, it would be through adoption. Did you know that lost pets are kept for ONLY 4 days then put through a week or so training, and if they do not pass are euthanized? Horrible huh?

Anyhoo, my sister just told me that the local SPCA has a Scottish Fold kitty for adoption!!! Scottish folds are one of my favorite kitties! Common physical characteristics of these kitties are the folded ears and big round eyes :) Here are some pics I took from google images:

♥ Leah

Read more...

Disturbing News...

I feel horrible, I should have been more aware. I should have been more careful. I did my usual research on animal tested cosmetics today and found out that NARS tests on animals.


NARS is a brand that was bought by Shisheido, and Shisheido tests on animals. Here is an excerpt taken from Peta's website detailing what they do:

"In product testing on animals, rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, and other animals are forced to swallow or inhale massive quantities of a test substance or endure the pain of having a chemical eat away at their sensitive eyes and skin—even though the results of animal tests are often not applicable to humans.

In eye and skin-irritation tests, rabbits are often immobilized in full-body restraints while a substance is dripped or smeared into their eyes or onto their shaved skin over the course of days or even weeks. Rabbits can suffer swollen eyelids, irritated and cloudy eyes, and inflamed skin, and if they suffer irreversible corrosive damage, they may endure ulcers, bleeding, bloody scabs, or blindness.

Some experimenters also use the lethal-dose test, forcing chemicals down animals' throats, pumping them into their stomachs through a tube, or injecting them into their bodies until a percentage of the animals die."


Click here to read more, and to help STOP Shiseido from continuing its bad deeds

 Yes, I have bought NARS and I recently reviewed their product. I am not perfect, but I know what actions to take now. My NARS set will now go in the trash, and I wont even feel bad about it. In fact, I will feel good. This is a clear example of how important it is to research before you buy, and I hope you all will be inspired to do the same.


I also want to note that to only use cruelty free cosmetics is MY choice, and although I would love everyone to do the same, I do not judge other people if they don't. My goal here is only to make you aware, the choice of what to do about it is solely up to you. Whether you choose to live cruelty-free or not I sincerely appreciate you reading this. 


Thank you.

Read more...

Grand Opening of EightSeventeen Jewelry Giveaway!

Hey Everyone!

Kate Gene is celebrating the opening of her online store, EightSeventeen Jewelry, with one amazing giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive a prize pack consisting of:

♥ Moon's Harvest Bath and Body Goodies
♥ A Gift from Kim Kardashian's ShoeDazzle.com
♥ Your choice of any NARS Blush or Lip Gloss (courtesy of EightSeventeen Jewelry)
♥ 20% off your first EightSeventeen Jewelry order

Great prizes huh? There are TONS of ways to enter! To get started, click here  Also, check the jewelry she has for sale already by going to: eightseventeenjewelry.blogspot.com Super cute, fashionable and high quality stuff!

This giveaway ends Oct 1st so be sure to get your entries in before then.

Good Luck!

Read more...

BAD BRAND OF THE MONTH: LOREAL (THEY MAKE MAYBELLINE!)

As you all may have read, I am a strong opponent to using makeup from cosmetic companies that test on animals. Why? because torturing and killing a poor innocent animal just so you can smell pretty or have that perfect shade of blush in incredibly selfish, cruel and disgusting.

Now I'm not perfect, I've used brands that have tested on animals, but only before having the knowledge that they do so. There are so many brands, some you may not even expect! This is why every month I'm going to do a Bad Brand of the Month post.

For August, the bad brand of the month is LOREAL. Yes, they test on animals. Under Loreal are other brands that you may not even be aware of. Here are the other BAD brands that are under Loreal:

Biotherm
Cacharel
Garnier
Giorgio Armani
Helena Rubinstein
Lancôme
Matrix Essentials
Maybelline
Ralph Lauren Fragrances
Redken
Soft Sheen
Vichy

For more information, please click here.

Buy this brand instead!!!

REVLON

REVLON used to test on animals but has since changed their ways. Thank goodness because I'm in looooooovvvvvveee  with their makeup!!! ColorStay is my HG line! I cant get enough of the foundation!

For these kinds of posts I will do a bad brand of the month and good brand of the month, alternating between the two from month to month. So next month, Ill have a spotlight post on Revlon

What are your thoughts about animal testing? I would love to hear some feedback.

I pray this inspires you, and if it does, please spread the word. Also if you would like to research if the brands you are using test on animals click here

Read more...

Help Gena!

Hey lovelies!

Gena from glam-me-upxo.blogspot.com needs just a few more followers for a giveaway, so you should check her blog out and follow for a chance to enter.

Moving along these lines, I think it would be a great idea to start making posts every month or so about a beauty blogger who doesnt really get as much blog love as he/she deserves, so starting this month Ill be picking random blogs I read and create a post about them so others can read their amazing blogs as well. What do you guys think?

Also, since I feel very strongly about animal cruelty Im going to start doing posts about brands to buy and to avoid. Those of you who feel the same as I should do some posts like that as well!

Well, off to do some research. Hope ya'll are having a wonderful night/day!

Read more...

finally the perfect milky coral lip gloss!

I am happy to report my search for the perfect milky coral lip gloss has ended! All thanks to MAC's lipglass in Pink Lemonade. I went shopping w/ my mom the other day but I wasn't really looking to shop, I just wanted to spend time with her since I've been missing her so much since I had moved out. We went to Nordstrom and she was stocking up on her MAC items when she asked me if I wanted anything. Of course there were a million things I wanted but I said no as an attempt to prove my independence, plus Im not someone who likes people I love to buy me things I could buy technically buy myself - especially my own mother, she has bought me enough in my lifetime! I dont want to give the impression I could buy anything now, my budget has been strict as ever since Ive moved out! I say "technically" because although I could buy those "wants not needs" items it would be in poor financial judgement. Anyhoo, I going off into a tangent again...back on track. So my mom kept pushing it wanting to buy me something and I eventually caved only because for some reason my resistance seemed to be insulting her. I browsed through the lipglass and Pink Lemonade caught my eye. I swatched it on my hand and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for!

Coral has been a hot color this season and I've fallen victim to the trend. I've read so many raves about  "it" coral colored cosmetics such as Essie's Van Dgo (however you spell it) to Revlon's Coral Reef, to MAC's Ever Hip and Peachstock. I am astonished how this lip glass isn't mentioned along with those names. Its such a pretty color! I've been looking for a coral lip gloss in particular but didn't like Coral Reef because I wanted a really nice milky coral, with just a hint of pink. Coral Reef was too dark and orange-toned for my liking. I cant stress enough how perfect Pink Lemonade is. I assume this was over-looked largely in part of its name - PINK lemonade...well whatever it doesn't matter, all that matters is that you pick this up!!! Its sooo gorgeous!

w/ flash

w/o flash

swatches

Again, due to my unprofessional camera I must say this picture doesn't do it justice. The picture above is more like the color you will see on your lips

Read more...

Holy Grail Item! Revlon ColorStay 12hr Eyeshadow in Coffee Bean

Revlon ColorStay 12-hour eyeshadow set in Coffee Bean is my go to eyeshadow set. I used this and ONLY this on my recent trip to Hawaii. This set comes with 4 long lasting eye shadow shades all in neutral colors. The pictures dont do this much justice so here's a color description for all the eyeshadows in the set from top to bottom:

Row 1: light vanilla color, perfect for brow bone
Row 2: muted grayish beige, I use this color the most for blending
Row 3: my favorite color in the set! this is a very shimmery (not to be confused w/ glittery) true copper color. Just a tad bit darker that a shiny new penny!
Row 4: dark brown color with a plum undertone, very pretty

What I like...
- All the colors have a very nice sheen to them, but they arent overpoweringly shimmery. I use this for both day and night looks
- Long-lasting!!! I dont know about 12-hour long lasting though, personally I don't wear my makeup that long (unless Im SUPER tired) but I've put this on as early as 8 in the morning and the eyeshadow was still evident when I washed my makeup off as late as 11 at night.
- This set is perfect for travel! It comes with all the colors you need to highlight you brow bone, cut crease etc.

What I dont like...
- Nothing!!! :)

On to the pics

here's the back:

w/ flash

w/o flash

w/ flash

w/o flash

Read more...

twitter.com/TheRoyalBlush

Hey Everyone!

I made a new twitter, specifically devoted to you all beauty bloggers and makeup! I realized the twitter I had already is mainly about poker and I only use it to keep up with my fave poker stars and poker news. You can follow that one if you like poker. Here is the link to my new twitter:

www.twitter.com/TheRoyalBlush

Follow me and I'll follow you back :)

Read more...

WSOP November Nine!

Hey lovelies!!!


The new vid is up of the World Series of Poker November 9! Out of all the big poker tourneys, I hold this one closest to my heart. My ultimate dream is to play and win The World Series of Poker. Money is tight right now so I have to hold off playing poker until next month or so. I miss it dearly. Poker is a big part of my life, I love it more than vanity. Its what I think about when I wake up, sleep and all the hours in between. Being at the poker table is incredibly calming to me, its the only place I can be where my mind is free and I am most focused.


Thank God for twitter, Ive been able to keep up with all the action play by play. Speaking of which, I think Im gonna make another twitter strictly for makeup, and keep the one I have for poker. Mostly everyone I follow is a poker star and mostly all my tweets are about poker anyway lol


Anyhoo, heres the new official vid of the November 9 for all you other poker fans. How great is it 2 years in a row to see a big name at the table? Im rooting for The Grinder!

Read more...

Hawaii Vacation Pics

Here are some pics from my fiance and I's recent vacation to Hawaii. It was a lot of fun, I finally got to cross something off of my Things-To-Do-Before-I-Die list!!!! Shark cage diving! For some reason, I like adrenaline rushes from real-life "danger" than man-made danger. For example, I would love to rappel down a mine shaft, or run down one of those rickety indiana jones type bridges in the rainforest but I wont go on roller coasters. So when I found the opportunity to go shark cage diving I jumped at it. My fiance wasnt too pleased with me for spontaneously booking the excursion but he we was excited nonetheless. It was tons of fun BUT it wasnt intense as I wanted it to be...there were no great white sharks, or any sharks for that matter nipping at the cage! The sharks that were there came pretty close, and I stuck my foot out but they werent biting lol. Great white shark cage diving is still on my list :) We still seen about 4 big galapagos sharks and barracudas though. Oh, and my fiance and I got horrible sea sick haha. It was still worth it though

Also, I take back everything bad I said about lush products! I never went inside a lush store (the haul I did was all purchased online) so I decided to mosey on in and have a looksie when I spotted a store in Waikiki. I really wanted to make lush work for me because of their anti-cruelty products and needless to say, it did! Turns out, the few things I had ordered were the only bad-smelling products they had. I stocked up on a few items but prefer to buy the rest online because the online purchases come with free samples. Before I left I made I kept a mental registry of smells so I know what to order next.

On to the pics...we have more on Anthony's other camera and our underwater disposable camera, Ill be sure to upload those ones soon because Anthony takes better pics than I

on the Dole Plantation, the soil has a high iron content that makes it red, and also makes for DELICIOUS pineapples! Pineapples anywhere else will never taste the same after you've tried them in Hawaii

Excuse my skin, this was on the way to the beach so Im only wearing water proof makeup, no foundation or concealer...and yes I wore makeup whilst swimming. If I didnt I would have looked like a zombie rising from my watery grave!

the water on the way to shark cage dive was AMAZING! Even when you get in the cage the water was still so blue and clear...looked just like listerine lol

our cage!

They were filming the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie in Oahu too. Heres a pic of the black pearl, no activity in the mornings though, I think they were only filming at night...*sigh* too bad we didnt get to see Mr. Depp

I was supposed to be taking pics of the POTC set but I got sidetracked when I seen this cute wild rooster!!! The little bugger was too fast to capture

This was the BEST hawaiian food ever!!! If you go to Waikiki, you must check Ono Hawaiian Foods out. The Kalua pork was so juicy and flavorful

I came back sooo tanned!!! It wouldn't have upset as much me if I didn't spend 30 bucks on some MUFE foundation a day before the trip. I didn't expect to tan because usually when I know Ill be in the sun I will equip myself with sunblock, umbrellas, hats, the whole nine. When we went to the local Walmart for some souvenirs I picked up Revlon ColorSstay to get me through until my skin tone goes back to normal. To give you an idea of the change, before the trip I was 330 (Revlon ColorStay) and when I purchased it again I was a 350! 

Hope you all enjoyed your week as well!

♥Leah

Read more...