Audrey Dao

Katy Perry Lashes

Audrey Dao — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:21:07 +0000

So I was at Ulta the other day and I saw the Katy Perry Lashes on display. I forgot all about them! There are 4 different varieties: Oh, My! (full, bold lashes), Sweetie Pie (natural looking), Oh, Honey! (natural but fuller), and Cool Kitty (full, bold lashes but shorter than Oh, My!). They each retail for $6.99.

Check out all the lashes!

I haven’t had a chance to try out the lashes yet. Have you seen or tried Katy Perry’s Lashes yet?

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara Review and Photos

Audrey Dao — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:14:23 +0000

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara ($19) A reparative and volumizing mascara containing Tarte’s biggest beauty breakthrough, Amazonian clay. This amazing mascara delivers a 406% increase in lash volume and long-term reparative, rebuilding, and strengthening benefits with each swipe giving you instant results and better lash health. Just as it intuitively restores hydration and texture in skin, Amazonian clay intuitively hydrates and replenishes dry and brittle lashes to prevent fallout. High performance natural™Amazonian clay performs all day by absorbing oil to balance mascara and keep product in place for flake-free longer wear. It lends itself to deepen pure color pigments creating a volume-boosting formula with higher intensity and truer pure color. The result is healthier and more voluminous lashes that won’t ever flake or transfer, naturally. After daily wear, lashes are intact, healthier and stronger. This mascara prevents lash loss and promotes lash health.

My Thoughts:

I really like Tarte’s Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart mascara. It’s a really good mascara for natural looking lashes. The mascara gives enough volume and length to your lashes to make them more noticeable but not overly dramatic. Also, the mascara doesn’t clump, smudge, or flake! It stays on all day and comes off easily when you remove it. I love that it didn’t dry out my lashes. Instead, my lashes felt soft. Overall, even though I liked the mascara, I feel you can find cheaper costing mascaras that work just as well. I couldn’t find a feature of the Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart mascara that stood out to justify the price tag.

Check out more photos of Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara!

Smith’s Rosebud Salve in a Tube Review

Audrey Dao — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:57:43 +0000

Rosebud Salve in a Tube ($6) A cult-favorite, multitasking miracle balm in a convenient tube format. This beloved multi-purpose essential not only moisturizes and soothes dry lips; it also calms and heals irritation, soothes the sting of minor burns, helps heal cuts, tames mangled cuticles, helps fix ashy elbows and knees, and minimizes diaper rash.

My Thoughts:

I know Smith’s Rosebud Salve is a cult favorite and almost everybody raves about it, but I might be one of the few people who didn’t find it all that great and just an average balm. I think I ended up disappointed because (1) the cost of the balm and (2) so many people raved and hyped it up. The Rosebud Salve reminded me of Vaseline, except tinted. I didn’t notice a very strong rose smell (which is good for me!) nor was it sticky or overly glossy. To me, this balm wasn’t all that moisturizing. I kept having to reapply more often than I would have liked. I think it lasted about a couple of hours before I had to reapply. I also didn’t notice an improvement in the conditions of my lips. It could be though that my lips weren’t in bad condition to start off with. Overall, Smith’s Rosebud Salve was a disappointment to me. I felt like it was overpriced Vaseline. There are definitely a lot of cheaper and better options available.

Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara Review and Photos

Audrey Dao — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:31:13 +0000

Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara ($20) A sculpting, curling, long-wearing mascara. In addition to holding curl all day, this mascara boasts incredible conditioning ingredients in its formula. Packed with glycoprotein for lash thickening, Moringa seeds to help with curl definition, and Meadowfoam seed oil and Shea Butter for moisturizing and smoothing, lashes get an extra nourishing boost with just one swipe.

My Thoughts:

Urban Decay’s Supercurl Curling Mascara is a very wet mascara. I’m not a big fan of it. The mascara didn’t curl my lashes like the name claimed it would do. Instead, it uncurled my curl. I’m guessing since it’s such a wet formula, it weighed down the lashes. Even with a curved mascara wand, my lashes still didn’t curl. However, it did lengthen my lashes. But still, length isn’t a good enough reason to like it if it doesn’t hold a curl like it’s suppose to. I have a feeling if your lashes are naturally curled, the mascara will work for you. It’s people with lashes that don’t curl naturally that are not going to like the mascara.

Check out more photos of Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara!

How To Get Voluminous Hair

Audrey Dao — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:40:53 +0000

Photos left emmagem.com right hairstylesarea.com

My hair has been feeling and looking flat lately. I think it’s because of the weather. Here’s what I do to combat flat hair and pump some volume into my hair.

If my hair is wet, I blow dry my hair upside down. This is usually the easiest and quickest way for me to get voluminous hair after I wash my hair. I just flip my hair upside and blow dry. I try to keep the airflow concentrated at the roots of my hair too.

If my hair is dry, I flip my hair upside down and spray some hairspray into my hair. Or I’ll just add some volumizing mousse. I found that mousse won’t weigh down your hair.

Find out more ways I add volume to my hair!

Photos: left kittiebears.tumblr.com right antm411.wordpress.com

Another trick is using a flat iron. No joke. Instead of pulling down on my hair when straightening, I’ll pull my hair upwards/away from my head with the flat iron. I’ll make sure the roots of my hair gets some heat that way it gets lifted off of my head instead of laying flat.

When my hair is long, I like to add volume by making my hair wavy. I’ll just use a curling iron to create curls and then lightly brush through them to loosen the curls to get it to be wavy.

Do you have tips or tricks to getting voluminous hair.

Too Faced LashGasm Mascara Review and Photos

Audrey Dao — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:54:51 +0000

Too Faced LashGasm Mascara ($21) A voluptuous, fluffing mascara that conditions as it thickens to create dramatically long lashes with intense color. Lashgasm’s multiple rows of flexible-but-firm, molded bristles are designed with micro-hooks that grab each and every lash for a clump-free application. The vitamin-rich, creamy formula penetrates for high-color absorbency and exaggerated depth. Meadowfoam Seed Oil forms a protective barrier to lock in soothing emollients that promote long-term wear without drying or harming lashes. A moisturizing combination of Panthenol, Vitamins A & E, and Jojoba Seed Oil hydrates and soothes lashes to keep them soft, light, and flexible.

My Thoughts:

Too Faced LashGasm is a wet formula mascara that is suppose to thicken and lengthen your lashes. I really like this mascara because it does a great job of separating, lengthening, and adding a bit of volume to your lashes with no clumping. The mascara wand has comb-like teeth instead of bristles that grab onto your lashes and does a good job of coating each lash with mascara. I would’ve loved Too Faced LashGasm if the formula wasn’t so wet. It takes time to dry so you have to try your hardest not to blink right away or you’ll end up with mascara everywhere. However, I did notice that after each use the mascara formula would be less wet. I’m guessing this is because the formula is being exposed to the air, and the air is drying out the mascara. So I guess in the end it worked out. Overall, Too Faced LashGasm is a good mascara. I think it’s worth a try if you don’t mind the initial wet formula.

Check out more photos of Too Faced LashGasm Mascara!

Conair Bun Maker Review and Photos

Audrey Dao — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:08:52 +0000

Conair Bun Maker ($3.49) Make a perfect hair bun every time with Conair’s new Bun Maker Style Kit. Just gather your hair in a ponytail, pull it through the hole in the Bun Maker, then spread your hair around the outside and secure with the included pins. The Bun Maker’s unique size and shape will make a perfect hair bun every time. Try it for yourself and see.

My Thoughts:

Yes! Finally an easy way to make a neat and perfect looking bun. The Conair Bun Maker comes with everything to help you create the perfect bun easily. The kit comes with bobby pins, a hair tie, and a bun maker. All you do is tie your hair into a ponytail, pull it through the bun maker, and wrap your hair around it until your hair covers the bun maker. Secure it with pins and you’re done. I did notice some potential problems that can occur. The first is if your hair is short. I can see it not working because you have to have enough hair to tie it into a ponytail and wrap it around the bun maker. Also if your hair is light colored, I have a feeling you’re going to have a difficult time hiding the bun maker since the bun maker is a dark color. Overall, I really liked the Conair Bun Maker. It’s a great, quick, and easy way to create buns.

Check out more photos of the Conair Bun Maker!

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Right now, Hair Style Boutique is offering 10% off all orders of $10 or more with coupon code AUDREYDAO

Thick, Bold Brows

Audrey Dao — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:45:44 +0000

Photos: top right designmom.com top left ohmygolli.tumblr.com center sparkling-glitter.tumblr.com bottom right vi.sualize.us bottom left thebrightbit.com

I have a thing for thick, bold brows. I think it helps frame the eyes beautifully. Plus, I feel it gives the face a gorgeous classic look.

Mine aren’t the thickest or the boldest, but this is what I do to try to achieve the look!

Step away from the tweezers and the scissors.

I admit staying away from the tweezers is super difficult. I sometimes tend to go tweezing happy too. By letting your brows grow out and not keeping them short, it helps create the illusion of thicker and longer brows. I still trim and tweeze a little bit to keep my brows nice and neat.

Fill in your brows.

Not everyone is blessed with thick brows, not even me. To make it seem as if I was born with thick brows, I fill them in. I sometimes use a pencil or a powder. Powders give a softer look while pencils give a stronger look.

Keep your brows in place.

I think it is super important to keep your brows in place. It helps maintains the shape of your brows and better frames your eyes. Also, groomed brows help give a strong appearance.

Do you have any tips or tricks to achieve thick, bold brows?

Holiday Giveaway – Bliss Body Butter Winner

Audrey Dao — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:45:31 +0000

Happy New Year Everybody! I hope 2012 has gotten off to a good start for you all. I apologize for announcing the winner of the last Holiday Giveaway – Bliss Body Butter so late. Thanks to everybody who participated!

Find out who the winner is!

Survey: Products You Avoid

Audrey Dao — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:38:05 +0000

Is there a beauty product or ingredient you avoid like the plague?

For me, it’s any product with a fragrance or strong scent. Immediately, my eyes will start watering and stinging and my nose will start running. I look like a hot mess!

What about you?