4th of July nails

Posted on July 3, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

What better way to spruce up your 4th of July look than by adding a touch of fun to your nails. Below are some fun and easy ways to decorate them for this upcoming weekend.

4th of July nails by gwendolyn-pena featuring nail care

A simple red, white and blue nail polish can go a long way, all you need is some scotch tape and you can create all sorts of designs with it. Touches of gold, silver and glitter nail polish can also add a festive pop to your look. If painting your own nails isn’t your thing another alternative is nail stickers, they are super easy to apply onto your nails and the best part is there is no need for drying!

The most important part is to have fun with your creations and enjoy the fun filled weekend!

Happy 4th of July Everyone!
-Gwen

Summer Stash

Posted on June 23, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Our vacation is officially over! Ari and I are super sad that we are no longer laying on a beautiful beach in Puerto Rico, alas reality has kicked in.
I wanted to talk more in detail about one of my recent purchases at Sephora, by the title of this post I am sure you all know I am referring to the Summer Stash makeup kit. This is the absolute perfect little set you can take along for travel or if your purse is small and you aren’t able to fit your normal sized products. Below are swatches and detailed explanations of each item’s function, lets get started!

Summer Stash $45 (worth $123)

The makeup bag included a Urban Decay all nighter makeup setting spray, Make up forever aqua eyes waterproof eyeliner, Stila foil finish eyeshadow in Kitten, Deborah Lippmann nail lacquer in Mermaid’s dream, Josie Maran coconut watercolor cheek gelee, Nars travel size bronzing powder in the color Laguna, Buxom divine goddess luminizer in the color venus, O.C.C stained gloss in the color new wave and lastly a Marc Jacobs mini lash lifter mascara.

From left to right: Buxom Luminizer, O.C.C lip stain, Stila foil eyeshadow, Nars laguna bronzer (which doesn't show u on my hand now that I have a tan) and Makeup forever's aqua eyeliner

From left to right: Buxom Luminizer, O.C.C lip stain, Stila foil eyeshadow, Nars laguna bronzer (which doesn’t show up on my hand now that I have a tan) and Makeup forever’s aqua eyeliner

The products above were either hard to swatch, in liquid form or I haven’t had the chance to try them out. I will say that I was not a fan of the Josie Maran cheek gelee, not sure if my skin is too pigmented for it but there was hardly any color payoff when I tried it. Also the Marc Jacobs Mascara was a bit flaky on me, it is a gel form so I am guessing that’s what caused it not to stick to my lashes. The Urban Decay all nighter spray is a product I have used before and loved and lastly I have not tried the Deborah Lippmann polish but I am sure I will love to use it as an accent nail color.

The essentials for my trip were the Urban Decay all night setting spray which worked great for those hot and sweaty days, the Nars laguna bronzer which I only used the first few days before my tan, the Buxom luminizer for a quick cheek bone highlight and lastly the O.C.C lip stain which was a perfect bright pink.

Even though there were two products I wasn’t a huge fan of I still believe the kit was a good deal and would definitely purchase something like this again.

Hope this mini review helped any of you thinking of purchasing this kit or any of the full-sized products.

I’ll leave you with this quick shot of the beach we were able to capture, because it’s the beach and who doesn’t love the beach.

Isla Verde, Puerto Rico

Until next time,
-Gwen

Sephora Summer Stash

Gwen packs for Puerto Rico

Posted on June 13, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Hey Everyone! So as you previously read my sister and I are going on a very much needed trip. We are so excited to see each other and will hopefully be able to snap a few photos of us together.
Although my packing technique is not as organized as Ari’s I’d like to believe that it is also a good method when trying to figure out what to bring along with you on a trip. So what I generally do is look at all of my products (hair, skin, makeup) and say to myself “will I really use this?” if my answer is no I obviously keep looking, if my answer is yes I place that item aside. Now another thing to consider when traveling is the climate of your destination as well as the duration of your stay. I snapped a few photos of what I will be taking for this trip (Sorry they are not tucked in neatly in my suitcase, I still haven’t officially packed Yikes!)

Suncare

First order of business is of course suncare! Sunscreen/Sunblock is very much needed when out and about in the sun all day.

Personal Hygiene

I know that most hotels and resorts provide lotion, shampoo conditioner and all that good stuff, but I personally like to bring my own things. I normally just buy small clear bottles and pour the product in.

Hair Care

Because we are going to be in the pool or beach most of the time, curly hair will be the way to go.

Skincare

My skin hasn’t been behaving lately so I am taking a small bottle of acne cleanser and of course can’t forget my dirt, oil and makeup removing wipes.

Makeup

This may seem like a lot of products but I did add a few items for the nights when we get all dolled up for a night on the town. My daytime essentials will most likely be my cc cream (which has spf), mascara, my brow wiz, a peachy blush and a lip butter or stain. Also check out a great travel piece for storing small items (like makeup) that Ive mentioned in a previous post from Sonia Kashuk. It is affordable and available at any target near you in varying prints and styles.

Hopefully this helped all of you traveling this summer to get an idea of what you should or shouldn’t bring with you.

Puerto Rico here we come!
Hasta Luego
-Gwen

*If you are curious about any product I posted or would like a review please comment down below. Thanks a bunch!
Xo

!!!!!!GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!

Posted on June 4, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

So weve slightly surpassed our goal of 150 followers since the last giveaway at 100 and we couldnt be more excited!! Blogging is something that is not only a hobby for us but something that we truly enjoy doing. With time we hope to expand and continue to work on our craft to be able to reach different audiences. As a small token of appreciation we want to offer a giveaway prize to one of our followers for being a part of the beginning of this lovely journey. The rules are simple,

1.Like this post before June 10, 2014
2. Comment (on this post) on something you would like to see on the blog, or something you already currently enjoy about our blog.

That’s pretty much it!

NYX Goodies

The winner will be chosen through a generator and will receive some makeup goodies from NYX given to Gwen at NYC’s Beautycon Event. There is no way we could hoard and keep all these products to ourselves! Check out her previous post on that event as well as our previous 100 follower giveaway where one lovely winner received an awesome high end sample makeup set from ULTA. Make sure to comment and like before June 10th where we will be announcing the winner. Good luck & a big thank you to all of our followers! Next goal…200!

Love, Gwen & Ari

Itsapplesandorangesblog.com

PS. We are now on bloglovin! Go check us out …http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12340193

Beautycon NYC

Posted on May 28, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Beautycon was in NYC this past weekend for the first time and boy was it fun! For those of you who aren’t familiar with what Beautycon is it is a fashion and beauty conference for the online community, such as bloggers and those who have Youtube channels and it is of course open to the public as well. Beautycon consists of interactive presentations, panel discussions and Q&A’s you are also given the chance to shop, learn about new products and most importantly be able to interact with some of the internet’s beauty icons.Ok on to the really exciting part which is meeting all of your beauty and fashion guru’s, I am thrilled to say that I was able to meet almost all of my favorites. Check out who they were down below! (Some of these photos were taken with my phone which is why they aren’t the best quality)

Amy Pham (Amypham.com)

Teni Panosian from Missmavendotcom

Carli (youtube: Carlibybel)

Brett ( youtube: Brettcap, he’s also Carli’s boyfriend)

Raye ( youtube: itsmyrayeraye)

Chatting with Maya (youtube: Shamelessmaya)

Dulce (youtube: Dulcecandy87)

Nadia ( Blog: nadiaaboulhosn.com)

There was a pink carpet theme which I thought was super cute! I might have taken it a bit too far with the posing, I thought I was a celebrity for a moment.

Here are my outfit details:
Crop top from Forever21
Striped midi skirt from Asos (curve)
Clog sandals from Maguba (If you live in the NYC area Shoe Market, Tani, DNA footwear and Soula have a small selection of Maguba shoes)

One more thing, I received a huge goodie bag from NYX cosmetics and will be doing a giveaway once we reach 150 followers. I will post the rules as soon as that happens!

Makeup Heaven!

My outfit pieces are no longer available but here are links to similar items.

Asos Curve Midi
Simplybe Midi skirt
Crop Top
Maguba Bologna clogs

Till next time
-Gwen

Whitening Lightning

Posted on May 23, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

All over the Youtube and Instagram world people have been raving about the Whitening Lightning Color Your Smile glosses, let me be one of the many to say that these glosses do not disappoint! One of my favorite beauty vloggers Carli (Youtube: Carlibybel) created a spring beauty essentials kit with Whitening Lightning which includes two glosses, a brow bar to go and another greatly raved about product called the BB plus illumination by Gerard Cosmetics I of course jumped on this amazing steal! The kit is priced at $85 but I also used a coupon code which brought it down to $65 for all four products.

Light Pink shade: Raspberry Sherbet
Rosie shade: Rose Hill

I love the consistency of these glosses! They glide on your lips smoothly and are also full of color! What’s really unique about these glosses is that they come with a built in light and mirror, no need to run to the restroom for touch ups ladies! I am not a huge fan of how light pink looks on my already pigmented lips so I will be using Raspberry Sherbet as a top coat for a pink lipstick instead. The Rose Hill color is to die for! I will be wearing it alone or over a lipstick as well. (It was actually created by yet another one of my favorite beauty vloggers Jaclyn Hill).

Raspberry Sherbet

Rose Hill

The Brow bar to go is a kit comes with two shades of brown (one is a bit lighter and has red undertones while the other is a bit darker with more taupe like undertones). The colors blend really well on the brows and it gives a soft and natural look to them (when using a light hand).

Brow Bar to go in the shade: Brunette to Ebony

The Gerard Cosmetics Illumination BB plus cream is like liquid gold! It can be used as an all over BB cream to give you that all around glow, you could also use a pump of it to mix into your foundation for a more dewy effect or just dab a pea sized amount onto your cheek bones for a gorgeous highlight!

Gerard Cosmetics BB plus Illumination

Wearing the BB Illumination as a cheek bone highlight (No Filter)

After using these products for about 2 weeks I can honestly say that Whitening Lightning is one of my new favorite beauty brands! I will be trying one of their teeth whitening kits next!

Have you tried any products from whitening lightning? If so leave comments down below.

Direct Link to Carli’s bundle:

Carli’s spring essentials
(I googled whitening lightening coupon codes and used whichever one came up)

Until next time,
-Gwen

May Birchbox

Posted on May 19, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Hey Everyone! As you know my sister Ari is subscribed to the Ipsy glam monthly bags, she’s been very happy with her goodies so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon as well. I decided I would subscribe to Birchbox, which is pretty much the same concept as the Ipsy bags (except you do not receive a makeup bag with your samples). Upon signing up you are asked a series of questions to create your personalized profile, such as what is your skin type, hair type, whether you would like to receive beauty, skincare and or hair care product samples (I of course opted for all three).

I absolutely love receiving things in the mail, and was so excited when I saw this cute little box sitting at my doorstep. This Month’s box arrived with a little bit of everything. Check below to find out what the items were.

Number 4 high performance hair care Volumizing shampoo and conditioner. This Formula is said to Gently cleanse and purifies while enhancing hair volume. Color Protecting, Anti-Aging, Sulfate & Sodium Chloride free. The Conditioner is a lightweight formula which gives amplified volume, shine and endless body. Adds weightless moisture and body without weighing hair down.

Marcelle BB Golden Glow. It's said to: Provide a healthy glow effect with just the right hint of illumination, Even out skin tone, Offer immediate and long-term hydrating benefits, Protect from premature aging and environmental stresses, Promote skin regeneration, Soothe and calm skin, Reduce the appearance of imperfections and Control shine

Marcelle BB Golden Glow. It’s said to: Provide a healthy glow effect with just the right hint of illumination, even out skin tone, offers immediate and long-term hydrating benefits, protects from premature aging and environmental stresses, promotes skin regeneration, soothes and calms, reduces the appearance of imperfections and controls shine.

Cynthia Rowley silver eyeliner.

Gilchrist & Soames spa therapy body lotion.

There you have it my friends, I am really excited to try the volumizing shampoo and conditioner. I tried the bb cream and it gave me a very luminous finish, very light coverage though.
If any of you are interested in purchasing any of these products you can look on birchbox.com or click on the links I’ve provided below.

Enjoy beauties!
-Gwen

Number 4 hair care
Marcelle BB Cream
Cynthia Rowley Makeup from Birchbox

L’Oréal Privée

Posted on May 8, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

L’Oréal has launched an exclusive nude collection from their Colour Riche line, yay! don’t we all love a good nude lip? What’s so unique about the Privée line is that the colors were created by Eva Longoria, Freda Pinto, Jennifer Lopez, Julianne Moore, Doutzen Kroes, and Liya Kebede, which are some of L’Oréal’s ambassadors. The shades come in a wide range of colors, inspired by the variety of skin tones of each of these women. I love that these were made with varying skin tones in mind in order to give you the perfect nude, whether you have light, medium or darker skin there is a color for you! I myself have medium to tan skin (depending on the time of the year) so I figured that Eva (610) and Jennifer’s (370) lip shades would match me the best and I was right! Take a look down below for a quick look at the colors.

Eva & Jennifer

Left: Jennifer’s nude Right: Eva’s nude

Jennifer’ nude on top, Eva’s on the bottom

First thing’s first the packaging on these are gorgeous! I am a sucker for anything black and gold so these guys definitely won my heart with that alone! The lipsticks are as creamy as can be and the color payoff is great. My lips are already naturally pretty pigmented making both of these shades compliment me very well. Jennifer’s nude is a soft nude and has more of a pink undertone while Eva’s has a bit more intensity and leans more towards a brown. Eva’s nude is basically the exact shade as my lips only better!

If you are wanting to try these you need to get to our local drugstore asap! I went to about five different ones and all of the displays had about 3 lipsticks left. I purchased one from CVS and the other from Rite Aid.

Till next time friends,

Oh can’t forget L’Oreal’s signature exiting line… because you’re worth it!

-Gwen

Lauren Conrad “Style”

Posted on May 3, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

When I was younger, I used to be an avid reader and would actually take on the tasks to finish lengthy materials super fast even if it meant getting some reading done at the dinner table or spending my summers at the local library. I loved where my books could take my imagination and how they made me feel. Throughout the years, school (in particular college) left a slight disdain for reading since it became more of a chore and not a hobby. I have made the choice today to get back to one of my favorite past times and enjoy reading just for the sake of it. Although it is more of a helpful guide versus a narrative “Style” by Lauren Conrad is a fun introductory easy read to get me back into the flow of things. I picked it up at my local Marshalls at a discounted price just merely based on the aesthetic appeal (great coffee table look) but quickly discovered that it actually had some awesome advice, guidelines, tips and tricks for the everyday girl interested in all things relating to fashion and beauty. Her simple yet chic look is broken down for even the basic beginner to be able to obtain as well as life and beauty hacks. From closet organization to choosing the right denim for your body type, this book has a little something for everyone and is an easy flowing read! Links below.

Find it here on Amazon

Barnes & Noble

-Love

Ari

February Ipsy Glam Bag Review

Posted on February 21, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

The time has come again for my monthly Ipsy Glam Bag, this is my second one ever and I must say I am much more pleased with this one than my January edition. This time around it included more full sized items and actual products that I love and will use often. First things first is the constant incorporation of a new makeup bag, plain pink with white trim and I love it! This one will probably be re-gifted as well or used for traveling purposes. I received lashes from jcatbeauty, a body butter from pacifica, zoya nail polish, pop beauty lip gloss and a shadow tint from ‘tini beauty. Check out my pics and reviews below and also the Links at the bottom for products. Enjoy!

J.Cat Beauty “EL 20”
Lashes + Glue
These are very thick but still very soft to the touch, I may cut them in half to use as accent lashes instead of a full glam look. I usually prefer a slimmer band but nonetheless these are still great lashes.

Pop Beauty -“Fuchsia Freesia”
This mini gloss is perfect to throw in your bag and your’e out the door! The sheer tint is great over another color to mix or alone by itself for a natural flushed pink pout. Although I did not see the advertised “plumping” effects I did feel the moisture from the avocado and jojoba oils used in said product. I love it!

Pacifica Body Butter- “Hawaiian Ruby Guava”
This body butter is super moisturizing and smells like heaven on earth! Like all pacifica products it is 100% vegan and cruelty free. This isn’t for someone afraid of a strong scent you will be smelling like a tropical dream for the entire day!

‘Tini Beauty-Eyeshadow Tint “Spiced Rum”
I have never heard of this line until now and they offer an array of nail products, eyes and lips as well. This eyeshadow tint is creamy, blends well and can be used as a base or by itself for a subtle look (on my skin tone). The packaging on the site is very cute with all of the products sporting an alcohol related theme i.e., “dry gin top coat”. Very cool concept!

Zoya- “Odette”
This pretty purple is perfect for an everyday mani. It was a nice consistency and one coat is good enough for a nice finish. Ive always liked Zoya polishes and Im glad to add this to my collection!

-Love,
Ari

Pacifica “Hawaiian Ruby Guava” Body Butter
Zoya “Odette” Nail Polish
‘Tiny Beauty “Spiced Rum” Eyeshadow Tint
J. Cat Beauy Eyelashes
Pop Beauty “Fuchsia Freesia” Lip Gloss