Case of the Mondays - 7 Beauty Products To Help Tackle The Week

Happy Early Thanksgiving! This week is going to be busy, busy, busy. I'll be running errands for the first half of the week and then it's family time all weekend. It's now become a tradition to go Black Friday shopping and I'm excited to start crossing names off my gift list. My partner and I are pretty organized and have a plan of attack every Black Friday weekend. Stay tuned for my Black Friday & Cyber Monday deal guides coming soon! I'll be sharing the best beauty deals you won't want to miss.

Since this Monday (& week overall) are pretty intense, I chose products that are multi-purpose and can potentially be good for on-the-go. Without further ado, here's this week's Case of the Mondays.

Glossier Set of Three Balm Dotcom, $36

I use Glossier's Balm Dotcom almost everyday. It's a gentle, waxy salve that you can apply to lips, cuticles, cheekbones, and anywhere else you want to hydrate. It's not glossy and works great as a spot treatment. I used the coconut version all summer long! This 3 pack comes in adorable + convenient packaging. I carry the box in my purse and remove two of the balms to put other small items inside.

Laura Mercier Flawless Contouring Palette, $50

This Contouring Palette from Laura Mercier has recently become my go-to. It's a great starter contour kit for anyone out there looking to use creams instead of powders. This palette is very blendable and perfect for all skintones. It's designed to shape, define, and highlight your best features. The palette contains three shades to contour and two to highlight. Once you've used to sculpt and highlight, finish with a translucent loose setting powder to lock everything in!

Glossier Boy Brow, $16

Another product from Glossier! This is their newest launch, Boy Brow. What I love about this product is that it's an all-in-one brow product. It's used to thicken, fill in, and groom brows into place. The creamy wax formula doesn't stiffen or flake and a sheer pigment keeps brows looking natural, but still fuller.

Benefit they're real! limited edition with Swarovski crystals, $26

Benefit's best-selling mascara is decorated with Swarovski crystals for the holidays. they're real! is one of my favorite mascaras, so adding a little bling is just a cherry on top!

Candy Cane Chapstick, $1.49 to $2.00

Yes, my lips taste like Candy Cane Chapstick and I'm not mad about it. I plan to stock up on this flavor, so I can use all year long. It smells so good and acts as a perfect pick me up in the AM! Be on the lookout at your local Target, CVS, and Walmart for Chapstick's limited edition holiday kits with 3 count packs in Pumpkin Pie, Cake Batter, and Candy Cane.

COVERGIRL Sofia Vergara's Custom Lip Shade, Sofia in Love

I received a very special gift last week of COVERGIRL Sofia Vergara's custom lip shade for her upcoming wedding. Sofia and her new husband tied the knot last night and Sofia wore this special COVERGIRL shade, Sofia in Love. It's a rich red shade that has the same technology as COVERGIRL's Outlast Longwear Lipstick. While this special shade won't be for sale, COVERGIRL's Outlast Longwear Lipstick is available in 11 stunning shades. You can find your new signature color at COVERGIRL.com. Be sure to also follow Sofia's wedding journey on SofiaVergara.com. The wedding looked absolutely stunning!

SK-II Mid-Day Essence, $80

This mist protects skin from environmental and stress damage. It's packed with a specifically designed formula that combines SK-II's signature ingredient Pitera with a new moisture lock complex. It'll keep your skin hydrated and fresh throughout the day as needed.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Holiday Stocking Stuffers {For Her}

I'm a big believer in waking up on Christmas morning to an amazing holiday stocking. The Mrs. and I go all out complete with luxury items, gift cards and trinkets that make us both smile. Here are my top picks for stocking stuffers in 2013.

1. L'OCCITANE Shea Butter Travel Treats, $18

2. Fresh Sugar Keepsakes, $25

3. Benefit Groovy Kind-of-Love Kit, $36

4. Tweezerman Ultra Precision Slant Tweezer, $35

5. butter LONDON Scrubbers 2-in-1 Nail Prep & Remover Pads, $10

6. Ciate Tree Trinkets, $21

7. LORAC - Rockin' Red Hot Mini Glosses To Go, $20

8. Bare Minerals READY Face & Body Luminizer, $45

9. Do You Speak Shoe Lover: Style and Stories from Inside DSW Book, $16.95

10. Napoleon Perdis Lip Gloss Collection, $39

Spring Skincare Must-Haves | A Hydration Story

Let's talk about a serious issue for a second - hydration. After the cold winter months, our skin tends to be dry and in need of moisture. With spring here to stay, I figured it was a great time to share the products that helped me through the harsh winter, and also the ones that will be sticking around for spring. I'm really big on moisturizing. If you know me on a personal level -- you know I moisturize from head to toe every single evening. I'm obsessed. For me, dry skin is one of the worst things you can have. Since it's difficult to avoid, it's important to find products that work best for your skin. Above are a few of my top picks.

Products of Interest: March 20, 2012

I'm always lusting after products and this month was no exception. Beauty products change with the season and the launches increase more and more. I indulged in a few of these this month and I'm already getting ready for Summer 2012 launches (I know!) I've got a ton of reviews lined up, so get excited. Also, if you haven't noticed -- My URL has changed. I'm officially www.beautyinnyc.com. Woo hoo. Thanks again for all the support. Xoxo.

More Yves Saint Laurent...

What have you got your eye on this month?

Benefit Launches New Blush "Hervana"

A "good karma" blush? I don't know much about that, but I do know that Benefit's new blush, Hervana, is quite a sight for sore eyes. Encased in Benefit's signature blush packaging, Hervana displays a cover of bouncy clouds, beams of lights and a halo. Inside is even better.

Shecky's Beauty Night Out -- Fall 2011

I recently attended Shecky's Beauty Night Out for night filled with shopping, drinks and goodie bags. Strangely enough this was my first ever Shecky's. I had heard amazing things about the events and I was ready to check it out. Shecky's is known for their girl's night out shopping events. It gives ladies a chance to get together and just spend a night away. You can find these events in many cites (NYC, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston + more).  These events are the perfect way to keep up with the latest fashion and beauty trends. Vendors in attendance were Benefit, Nightly Beauty, Nail Taxi NYC, Jewerly Bar NYC, Miss Jessie's, Watch Me & many more. The best part about Shecky's events? The awesome goodie bags! Each event includes a goodie bag filled with full-sized products from sponsors.

Products of Interest: October 2, 2011

It's hard to keep up with the latest & greatest beauty products even as a blogger. I've decided to start a monthly section of this blog titled, Products of Interest that focuses on items that I've been eyeing and are considering purchasing. Here's my October list. I spy tons of new buys this month!

1. MAC False Lashes Extreme Black Mascara ($19): As a glasses wearer on an everyday basis, I love the ad for this mascara. It definitely makes you want to run out and purchase this. I'm not crazy about MAC mascaras, but I'm considering buying this one.

2. Limited Edition Shu Uemura 24K Gold Eyelash Curler ($24): This cult favorite mascara now comes in gold! I recently was sent the original and it's one of the best I've ever used. If you don't own this yet, I definitely suggest you purchase.

3. Too Faced In Your Dreams Palette ($39): I'm obsessed  in love with the packaging on this palette and Too Faced cosmetics has some of the best pigments. For $39, this is a STEAL.

4. Benefit Watt's Up ($30): I've heard amazing things about this highlighter and I love the unique packaging. I'm curious about the blending part on the bottom. It's something I've never seen before.

5. Bite Limited Edition Luminous Creme Lipstick Set of 5 ($25): Bite Beauty is a huge hit at Sephora and came out with this limited edition set of mini lipsticks. It's super adorable and the colors look gorgeous. Never tried Bite? Learn more about them here.

6. Ultraflesh Gold Mascara ($26): I have the original Ultraflesh mascara and it's amazing, so why not try their new one?

Are you looking forward to any products this month?

Benefit Cosmetics Blushes Haul: Coralista & Thrrob

Hello dolls. I'm back from Puerto Rico and I've got a few posts on that coming up so stay tuned. I have a few hauls that I've been meaning to post! I like most people love Benefit's blushes. I really haven't found one I didn't love. I picked up these two gorgeous babies: Thrrob & Coralista and wasn't disappointed.

Thrrob is described as "cool pink powder" and is just that. It's a very soft baby doll pink and gives you a soft flush. It immediately reminded me of Japanese anime characters. They always have the perfect soft pink flush like this:

See?

I definitely recommend this blush to anyone looking for a baby pink blush.

Retail: $28 at Benefit

Coralista is described as "warm-coral pink" and is just that. It's meant to give you a "tropical flush." I've been using this non-stop lately. It's really pigmented and gives the ultimate coral glow. Imagine being on Bora Bora ... relaxing.. sipping a cold iced tea on the beach. I can see myself wearing this blush there! Can you?

Ahhh if only I were rich ;) Onto the photos...

I recommend everyone to try this blush. I think it will definitely work with all skin tones and look gorgeous.

Retail: $28 at Benefit

What blushes are you loving lately?

Benefit Cosmetics Smokin' Eyes Kit Review & Swatches

I've always interested in palettes that offer how to's on certain eye looks. This benefit kit caught my eye because it came with three eye shadows, a black eyeliner, eye-bright, mini tweezers and a two sided brush. The pigments were great on the shadows and the kit was overall pretty great. I've often asked how to create the perfect smokey eye and this is the easiest way for someone who is just learning. It also includes specific step by step instructions which were amazing and definitely easy for a first-timer.

Retail: $36 at Sephora

Do you own any how-to kits?

Benefit They're Real Mascara Launch

I've often had people ask me, "what's the best mascara out there?" The truth of the matter is you can't put a title like that on any mascara. Mascaras are different for every person that uses them. No lashes are created equal, so a mascara will work differently for every kind of lashes. I, myself, have very long lashes, so my concern is fullness. For someone who has small lashes, their need may be much different. Their interest with be length as opposed to definition.

The first step is finding the perfect mascara is determining what your general need or want is. Do you want dramatic looking lashes OR do you want a more natural look? Then determine what kind of lashes you have and then take it from there.

I always suggest to go to your local makeup store (Sephora, Ulta, Macys, Saks ETC.) and take a look at the different mascaras. Take a look at the different wands available and ask those above questions and someone can normally help you find what works best for you.

I received an email from Benefit Cosmetics talking about how amazing their new mascara was. I was intrigued by their catch phrase, "They're Real, HONEST!". I was talking to a friend the other day about how mascara ads ALWAYS use false lashes to promote. It's really false advertising but no one would purchase the product unless they believed it worked. I watched this ad below and decided to try the mascara out:

Benefit's they're real mascara is a jet-black mascara that's said to lengthen, curl, volumize, lift & separate lashes for the perfect look. The brush is "specially designed to maximize the performance of the long-wearing, glossy formula-revealing lashes you never knew you had!"

94% saw dramatic length and volume

90% saw base-to-tip curl

94% saw visible lift

100% saw long-wearing results

Retail is $22 at Sephora or Benefit

I was able to get this mascara at Sephora before it launched. They had a mini one available for 100 points if you were part of their beauty insider program. You can become a beauty insider here.

I love brushes like this! They work great to really create the illusion of fuller, longer lashes. This mascara reminded me of Ultraflesh's Panthera mascara, which is my current favorite mascara.

Here's my lashes without mascara:

This is my lashes with NO mascara. They're pretty long normally, but not very full. I decided to try the mascara without curling my lashes.

Here's my lashes with they're real mascara:

What I also LOVE about this mascara is I tend to wear glasses on a normal basis and you can see my full lashes through the glass :-) These are what I like to call my nerd-at-home glasses!

Final thoughts: I definitely recommend everyone to give this mascara a try. I've read a ton of reviews and it seemed like it's made to work for every type of lashes. Benefit also has a before and after on their site to show PROOF  that it works.

Will you purchasing this mascara? What's your favorite mascara?