As promised.. It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream + Anti Aging Hydrating Serum SPF 50+ UVA/UVB… Review

Now that is a lot of title for this amazing little tube of product. Hi guys thanks for coming back.  I have been talking about this in my blog for a while now.  It has been listed in my part 1 of my holy grail daily use products as well as in a birthday haul.  Oh yeah and one I forgot was the It Cosmetics Game Changer post.  I don’t have to tell you I have a real love of It Cosmetics but the true admiration is for the CC+ cream.  I really never believed I could have the coverage I needed from a CC cream.  This one is it.



If you follow my blog you already know I am in my early 40’s and I have been on a mission to halt all signs of aging from marching across my face.  The entire point of this post started getting lost in my drug history so if you are interested you can follow this thought to here.

So the CC+ cream seems pretty easy to match.  It comes in 5 color choices, Fair, Light, Medium, Tan and Rich.  The color I have is Light.  I was a little worried at first because I have been self tanning but it really seems to work regardless of my use of a self tanner.  You get 1.08 fl. oz. in a tube with a pump on it, I love this type of product with a pump, it just makes things less messy.  I have had mine since the middle of May so I have been using it fairly frequently for 6 weeks and I still have maybe 1/4th of the product left.  It takes about 2 pumps if I cover my entire face with it, 1 if I just use it in the areas of uneven tone or I mix an illuminating  BB cream with it like the one from Gerard (Whitening Lightning).  I pump it unto the back of my hand then use the Makeup Geek Foundation Stippling brush to apply it then I use my Real Techniques makeup sponge to finish it off.  I find that I just need one coat to cover any imperfections as well as to even out uneven skin tone, it really doesn’t take a lot of this stuff.  Keep in mind I always moisturize and I only use a primer in the places I need it like my T zone.

As you can probably already tell I really love this product.  The pros for me are 1. Full coverage 2. Easy color matching and blends well whether I am self-tanning or not 3. Feels light on my skin 4. It’s good for your skin, especially aging skin like mine.  Cons 1. It cost $38.00  This is really the only negative for me.  If you order any of the It Cosmetics from QVC you may receive a sample size of this product, I did when I ordered the New Year New You collection.  I would suggest trying it from there or Ulta, somewhere that has a really great return policy.  I always like to try any foundation type product before I drop that much on it and sampling is the way to go.  Unfortunately Sephora doesn’t carry It Cosmetics and Ulta doesn’t give out samples, not my location anyway.  I was very happy with mine and I hope if you give it a go you are too.

As always thank you so much for reading my blog and look for part 2 of my daily holy grail products.  I will finish up with all the color, eyes, cheeks and lips.  I am also giving the Sephora 10 hour liquid foundation a go.  Today is the first day I have worn it and so far so good.

Much Love and God Bless,

KelleyJ0

Twitter @kelleyjo3334
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On The Daily, Part 1

Hi guys, thanks for coming back.

So I have been struggling as I have said in previous posts with just having enough room to move around.  I’m sure a lot of you know if you are unorganized and there is a lot of clutter around it’s very hard to think.  Your mind is in the same shape as your surroundings.  So even though I have things as well organized as possible it’s still pretty bad.  I have put all of my plans for this blog, future YouTube channel and most importantly my nonprofit on hold until we move.  The problem is we haven’t, I thought we would have found something and I would have been completely unpacked and half way to normal long before now.  I believe everything happens for a reason and my grandmother has really needed someone here for the first time ever.  She is very independent and has never had any health issues until lately.  I have touched briefly on her pinched nerve and if everything goes as planned after Monday, and a 2nd steroid injection, she will be back to doing everything she has always done for herself.  For 86 years old she is defiantly an exception to the rule and I admire her very, very much.  (BTW The injection went very well!)

I was watching my YouTube subscription videos this morning, as usual, and everyone has been doing a summer essentials video.  I decided I would do a daily essentials because I have never done a GRWM or anything similar so this is it.  I have found some true holy grail products in the last couple of months.  Since I am struggling to get everything else off the ground I figured this would be easy since everything in this blog post is kept very close and it’s not packed in a box, stacked in a closet or way back in the back of a large storage building.  I’ve gone back and cut this into a 2 part series because it was getting so long I don’t want to bore you guys so lets get started…

Skin Prep

Tea Tree Soap: I have talked extensively about my skin care routine on this blog.  I am still using the Theraderm once a day in the evening.  In the morning I wash my face with an organic Tea Tree soap.  Since I am using so much at night and I believe it is possible to over exfoliate and take away natural oils your skin needs I keep it simple in the morning.  This just keeps my face free of bacteria and preventing any bacterial breakouts.  Be careful not to get Tea Tree oil in your eyes, it is very irritating and it burns badly.

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster: Since I got the 3 little wonders from Sephora I have used them all up with the exception of this serum.  I use it after I wash my face and it seems to brighten my skin.  It claims to have many benefits like supporting natural cell turnover, repairing cell damage as well as providing natural vitamin C.  It smells good too.  A little bit goes a long way and I believe I will repurchase this when it’s empty.

Ole Henriksen Protect the Truth SPF 50+: This was one of the products that came in the Sephora Favorites Sun Safety Kit that I included in my Birthday Haul post.  I firmly believe in wearing SPF everyday no matter what the season is, I believe my lack of sun exposure and tanning bed ban has directly kept my skin looking very youthful and healthy.  This is a great one that has vitamin C in it and gives you the extra protection from the sun with the high SPF.  It doesn’t smell like SPF and has the wonderful vitamin C and great orange aroma.  It blends in easily and is sheer enough to wear under your favorite moisturizer.

Theraderm Facial Moisturizer: Thick, oil free moisturizer that is included in my skin care system.  I use it twice a day both as my moisturizer under my makeup in the morning as well as my nighttime moisturizer after my nightly skin care routine using my Theraderm system.  I’ve done a few posts about the Theraderm you can go back and read if you are interested in this system by Therapon, the above link is for the entire 12 posts that include Theraderm.

Hourglass N° 28 Primer Serum: I love this primer!  It is expensive so I don’t use it daily but I would if it was more reasonably priced.  This does however come in 2 sizes 0.33 for $22.00 or 1.0 FL oz for $65.00 on Sephora.com.  My foundation goes on effortlessly and stays put all day even in this heat and humidity.  The serum is so silky and I love the feel of it on my skin.  It is oil based and my dry skin drinks it in but it doesn’t have a greasy feel to it at all.  I just really love Hourglass products I wish they weren’t so expensive but the ones I’ve tried so far are worth every penny.

It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+: If you haven’t seen or read anything about this product from It Cosmetics you are living under a rock.  This is one of those products people are passionate about, they either love it so much or really just hate it.  Most, including myself love it.  I have some really uneven skin tone and most CC creams just do not have the coverage I need to feel comfortable.  This is the first one I’ve tried that is absolutely full coverage with options.  You can sheer this out to cover like a traditional CC cream or you can build it up for the full coverage you would only expect out of a liquid or cream foundation.  The “+” is it is good for your skin and it has an SPF of 50 without all of the usual unwanted effects of wearing a heavy SPF.  The only thing I dislike about this product is the price.  It is comparable to any mid range price of foundation but I love it so much I use it every day and that can get expensive.  You get 1.08 FL oz. for $38.00.  I did find it on QVC for $34.68 plus $4.47 S&H so you really aren’t saving anything unless you can find it on flex pay and you can spread the cost across a couple of months.  QVC also offers this on auto delivery every 60 days and if you can catch it on TSV you can lock in the price offered that day.

I went ahead a chopped this post down as well.  I talk a lot in my day to day life so I guess it directly translates to my blogging, sorry if it's to long.  Thanks again and I will follow with the rest of my daily favorites here in a day or so.  

Much Love and God Bless,

KelleyJo

Twitter @kelleyjo3334
Instagram @kelleyjojo333
Facebook @Kelley.lively
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Top Coat.. To Spend or Not To Spend?

Hi Guys thanks for coming back. Just let me start by saying sorry it’s been so long between posts.  As you already know, if you follow my blog, we are between homes and staying with my grandmother.  She is having some trouble with a pinched nerve in her back and I have been spending some time helping her out.  She doesn't need a lot but I have been driving her to work and so on so she will not have to walk as far.  And yes my 86 year old grandmother still works 2 to 3 days a week, God bless her.

The house hunt is getting the best of me.  I swear I never thought it would be this hard to find a house to rent.  Chattanooga is in the midst of a financial boom.  With the fastest, cheapest internet in the whole country, Chattanooga is now known as the Gig city, internet startups that really can take advantage of the speed and cost of the speed offered as well as new jobs from Volkswagen and Amazon who have large facilities in the area and are still growing, well lets just say housing is snatched up as soon as it is posted.  The rent is pretty high as well once you cross the Georgia/Tennessee line.  We are looking at paying around $1000 per month for a 2 bedroom in a decent area.  There are a lot of areas that have had revitalization programs and are coming back better than ever.  When I was growing up downtown Chattanooga was a ghost town after 5:00 p.m. and now that’s when things really start to pick up.  The city has done a wonderful job and it shows in not only the industry that has come but in the tourists that now flock to the city to see the Tennessee Aquarium, The Incline, Rock City and Ruby Falls.  If you have never been to Chattanooga check it out, it’s not just about a train anymore.


So I have been bitten by the nail polish bug lately.  Of course you can spend anywhere from $2.00 for Wet and Wild polish to $27.00 for a bottle of Chanel polish.  There are subscription boxes dedicated to nail polish and accessories as well as hundreds of thousands of Pintrest boards dedicated to beautiful nail art.  I have started buying more polish than I used to.  Up until I was in my late 20’s I was a nail bitter.  The last cruise I took with my mother was the event that really made me decide to stop.  We weren’t even on the boat yet when one of my acrylic nails broke off.  That of course ruined the whole look and it just pissed me off.  Back then we didn’t have a nail salon on every corner and it was $40 at least for a full set.  So when I had to get on that boat one nail short I decided I would have my own nails the next time I sailed.  Of course my nails are brittle and break easily, but I haven’t had acrylic nails on since.  That was about 15 years ago and I love to paint my nails but it wasn’t until recently that I was so adamant about them looking perfect.
I believe I know the best way to paint my nails.  I know to use a base coat, I know to use the center stroke then 1 down each side, I know to run the polish across the end of the nail to create a seal to prevent chipping and use a top coat to bring it all together and seal it up.  I try to keep layers from being to thick so that the polish dries faster and it doesn't dent when you press in on the nail.  That being said my polish was chipping within a day or 2.

So back when I wrote the review about Wet and Wild Megalast polish I wasn’t having this problem, I even packed up a house and moved 350 miles then unpacked into a storage unit.  So I had been using Sally Hansen Dries Instantly 30 Second Top Coat up until I got to the bottom of the bottle and it became pretty goopy and I threw it out.  So instead of buying another Sally Hansen top coat I got one of the cheaper ones, Nutra Nail Speed Dry Top Coat.  About the same time I ordered a Julip Maven monthly subscription box with a coupon for my first box free.  I believe the coupon code is FREEBOX, I will update this post if I find out it’s different.  From what I could see on the internet about Julip and from the cost of a single bottle I believed I had a pretty high quality polish.  I know it’s not Chanel but I believed it to be up there with OPI for example.  I used a bottom coat, 2 thin coats of polish and the Nutra Nail top coat.  It had chipped by noon the next day, not even 24 hours after I polished them.  I had let them dry for an hour and babied them for the rest of the night after I polished them, they shouldn’t have chipped so quickly.

A couple of days ago having the same results with any and all polish I decided that it wasn’t due to my polish but my top coat.  I found a bottle of the Nicole by OPI on sale and purchased it.  Now before you say, hey that’s not a high quality top coat, it’s better than the Nutra Nail, that’s of course if you judge quality by the price….  Back to the chipping problem, they wore another day or 2 longer but still chipped.  So I’m not real sure if this is the problem or the answer.  I need more research and I need a better top coat.  Up until recently I had been skipping the base coat step and I am paying for that with discolored nails.  So maybe it’s the base coat, maybe it was better when I wasn’t using one.  I had found a bottle of Wet and Wild strengthening nail polish in the bathroom at my grandmothers house.  This bottle of polish might be considered antique.  So I am off to buy a better top coat and maybe even a base coat that isn’t as old as I am.  I did find the Sinfulcolors top coat on clearance for $0.99.  I really do like the quality of their polish and at under $2.00 you can afford to change colors everyday.  If you have any suggestions about what I might need to do differently or what brand top coat might work better I am open to suggestion.


I really wanted to get a post up so you guys wouldn’t think I had moved on to something else.  I know, like I said in my opening paragraph, that I am lacking in my frequency of blogs.  I still have a head full of ideas for my program to help women who have been incarcerated.  I think I am at the point where I just do not know what to do next.  I’ve been using mind mapping to pull my ideas into a cohesive plan.  I have untreated adult attention deficit disorder and it is hard to pull ideas into something tangible sometimes.  Just know it is my passion and so is this blog.  Beauty products and everything that goes with it is the one thing I have stuck with longer than a typical commercial break.  Thank you all for reading and I appreciate the continued prayers and support.  When I solve my nail top coat/base coat problem I will get back to you.

Much Love and God Bless,

KelleyJo

Twitter @kelleyjo3334
Instagram @kelleyjojo333
Facebook @Kelley.lively
Pintrest @Kelleyjo333
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As Requested Epielle BB Cream Review

Hi guys, thanks for coming back.

So I had a reader comment today about wanting a review for the Epielle BB Cream sold at Big Lots and other discount locations.

Lulu June 10, 2014 at 10:57 PM
“Yes, please if you can do a review of the Epielle BB cream, that would be great. Our Grocery Outlet sells it for $1.99. A great deal for a made in Korea bb cream, I think.”



If you are a Big Lots shopper you might already be familiar with the makeup removing wipes that this company sells that come in a couple of different options.  I know there is a cucumber and maybe 3 or more different kinds with this brand.  They retail for I believe a $1.00 for 50 wipes and I’ve used them fairly often with good results.  I never had any resulting breakouts or negative reaction to them.  The wipes themselves are medium size, soft and do a great job of taking off your makeup and even hard to remove eye makeup.

The BB cream was something I had seen in a blog post somewhere and was excited to see in my local Big Lots.  I had a post where I boasted about how wonderful the H&B department was at my location and in it I had listed this BB cream with a promise of review and I’m sorry it took Lulu asking for it.  In all honesty I had forgotten because I no longer use this product. 

At first I thought the BB cream was wonderful.  It seem to have great coverage for a BB cream and when mixed with my foundation, Estee Lauder Resilience Lift and buffed in, it created a dewy finish.  It wasn’t until I was in the car on day 2 of wearing it.  I looked in the mirror in the day time after wearing it for only a couple of hours and noticed it was breaking up, bad, especially around my nose and across my forehead at my hairline.  The finish was nothing like it had been when I first put it on.  Just for information I do have dry / combo skin so I was very surprised it was doing this on my face.  I’ve seen this more with oily skin, but haven’t experienced it much myself. 

Shortly after buying this BB cream I bought the It Cosmetics CC cream from QVC and really forgot about the Epielle BB Cream.  I am sorry to say that I was just so unhappy with it in the car that day that once I was wearing the It Cosmetics product I just packed it away and forgot about it.  If you read my blog often you are aware of my current living situation and our desperate hunt for a house, which we still haven’t found.  So room is very limited here at my Nannies house not really in area but in the fact that it’s her house and I’m trying to keep all my makeup and products put away best I can.  I have already taken over the formal dinning room table for a dressing table.

So in closing would I recommend getting the Epielle BB Cream?  Yes and No, if you are young with great skin, sure give it a try but if you have any problematic skin or aging skin, I might spend my $2.00 on a bottle of Wet and Wild polish or any of the other great beauty find at Big Lots.  On second thought who am I to judge.  Grab and bottle and go to town!  We are all beautiful no matter how good the Epielle BB Cream works. 

Thanks a million Lulu I hope this helps and thanks for reading my blog today.  Every time I see the counter go up  I am so humbled by it.  I am so blessed, thank you so much for coming back.  I promise to blog more often as soon as we move and I am comparing cameras for YouTube videos.  I am working on a full review this weekend of the It Cosmetics CC cream, for the most part I just love everything I have gotten from them. I will be getting my nonprofit, Makeup for a 2nd Chance off the ground soon as well.

Much Love and God Bless,

KelleyJo

Twitter @kelleyjo3334
Instagram @kelleyjojo333
Facebook @Kelley.lively
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It Cosmetics.. GAME CHANGER?

Hi guys, thanks for coming back to my blog.

So if you subscribe to the It Cosmetics email, It Insider, you received a very interesting announcement in your inbox this morning.  The subject line reads NEW! Game-Changer! It’s Your Confidence in a Compact.  I remember it wasn’t  to long ago that Bare Minerals was saying the same thing about Bare Skin, many agree.

Apparently they are releasing a new type of foundation never seen before.  It’s called CC+ Veil Beauty Fluid Foundation and it comes in a compact like their celebration foundation but it’s a fluid foundation.  This comes in 5 colors fair, light, medium, tan and rich and it claims, as many of their other products do, that it is anti-aging, hydrating and color-correcting “Brighten complexion, improve skin tone, and minimize pores and fine lines”.  The email explains that it is a beauty fluid that is dispensed through a cushion type mechanism unlike any product on the market.  Like many of the It Cosmetics face products it contains a SPF of 50+ UVA/UVB and that is something I adore with these products.  The ones I have experience with do not contain the tell tell fragrance of SPF and I know a lot of women just do not like wearing SPF for that reason.  It also claims to be “anti-aging armor with skin-perfecting technology” It Cosmetics web page also lists many of those good for your skin ingredients in this foundation “Anti-Aging Peptides, Niacin, Algae, Vitamins A, C, B, E, Hyaluronic Acid, and Hydrolyzed Collagen”.  Unlike most CC creams, I guess this is where the + comes in this is a medium to full buildable coverage.

I have a bit of experience with It Cosmetics.  The first products I purchased was the 5 piece collection on QVC, New Year, Your Most
Beautiful You.  This collection included..


1. 2 in 1 Bye Bye Under Eye/Hello Light Brightener
2. Celebration Foundation
3. Heavenly Luxe Double Airbrush Foundation Brush
4. Feel The Moment Anti Aging Serum Primer
5. Heavenly Luxe Sensory Sweeping Fan Brush
You can find my post about the collection here.

I won’t repeat everything and bore you to death but I love it.  I still have a bit of the primer serum, I’m saving the last little bit, as well as the rest of the collection although I have used it frequently.  It included a sample of the CC cream which I ordered the full size on my birthday and use daily.

I also have the Naturally Pretty Palette, that I included in my March favorites.  I’ve seen a lot of positive and negative reviews for this palette so my advice would be put your hands on it, check it out and make sure if you purchase this palette you get it from somewhere you can return it if you are unhappy.

The CC+ Veil Beauty Fluid Foundation can be found on the It Cosmetics website for $38.00 for 0.34 fl. Oz. and I included the link above ^^^.  I would like to see more product for that price but it’s not way off base for the brand.  The foundation comes with a  “non-absorbing puff applicator”.  Also keep in mind this is called a CC+ foundation and it says on the website that it can be used on top of your moisturizer or in place of your moisturizer as well as primer, foundation and sunscreen.

I used my It Insider email and the It Cosmetics website for all of this information so if you have any other questions you may be able to find your answer there.  I personally believe Jamie Kern is a genius when it comes to makeup for women who are dealing with aging skin and I hope to have this in hands and on my face very, very soon.

Thanks for coming by and as always..

Much Love and God Bless,

KelleyJo
Twitter @kelleyjo3334
Instagram @kelleyjojo333
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