Dark Floral

Posted on November 10, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

I am currently loving how Spring/Summer trends are sneaking their way into Fall/Winter pieces. Which brings me to talk about my recent H&M purchase, a floral blazer with a black background color. Adding a floral pattern to a dark base color makes a clothing item a bit more wearable for the colder months. The style of this blazer is a wider cut with pockets on the side giving it a more relaxed feel. I paired it with an all black outfit, making it the focal point of this look. Check it out…

I also wanted to show you all a close up of my lovely Sam and Libby pumps from Target. The minute I saw these I fell in love! I love a classic pointy shoe but these have a bit more flare to them because of the tie around ankle cuff. The heel height was also a huge selling point for me since I no longer enjoy wearing super high heels (I am old now). Here’s a closer look…

Stay tuned for some of my upcoming “wintery” looks.

Blazer

Pumps

-Gwen

Makeup Looks

Posted on October 26, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Happy Sunday Everyone! It’s been a while since I have done a makeup post so I decided to photograph the looks I did on mis mejor amigas before a casual night out. I am also working on my application skills and what a better way to do it right? Lets take a look at these beauties…

L-R Cinthia, Lucy & Emily

First one up is Cinthia: She has really great skin and normally doesn’t wear any foundation. She asked for the “jlo glow”. Here’s a closer look at what I came up with:

Face: Hourglass veil primer, Covergirl Outlast 3 in 1 foundation shade #857 (golden tan) mixed with Gerard Cosmetics BB plus illumination. MAC prep and prime in bright forecast (undereye brightening), Anastasia Contour kit Shade Fawn and Havanna. BH cosmetics blush palette (peach shade) Mary-Lou- Manizer for highlight.
Brows: Anastasia brow wiz in Dark Brown
Eyes: MAC paint pot in layin low, shadows: Amber lights (Entire lid), Texture (crease) and naked lunch (brow highlight). Revlon matte shadow in Rich Sable (outer corner).NYX jumbo eye pencil in white (base), E.L.F false lashes and Sephora Rio nights gel liner
Lips: Limecrime lipstick in Cosmopop and Gerard Cosmetics gloss in the shade nude.

Next up is Lucy: She and I can talk makeup for hours upon hours! She too has great skin and loves defined brows. Here’s what I created on her:

Products used:

Face: Becca Ever matte primer, Tarte Amazonian clay in the shade tan-deep sand mixed with Bare Minerals Bareskin Foundation in the shade Bare Caramel. Mac pro long-wear concealer in the shade W35 & W30 Anastasia contour kit in the shade Havana, MAC prep and prime in the shade Bright Forecast. BH Cosmetics blush palette (berry shades to the top right) Mary- Lou- Manizer for highlight.
Eyes: MAC paint pot in layin low. NYX jumbo pencil in white. Buff (brow highlight) Rose (lid)from Lorac Pro Palette 2, Revlon Matte shadow in Rich sable (crease) and Makeup geek’s Bitten (outer corner). Loreal voluminous mascara, E.L.F Lashes and Sephora Rio nights gel eyeliner.
Brows: Anastasia brow wiz (dark Brown) and dipbrow pomade (medium brown)
Lips: Rimmel Lip Liner in Cherry kiss, Too Faced Melted lipsticks in the shade Berry.

Last but certainly not least Emily: Doesn’t she have great lashes? (no falsies used). Emily loves bold lips which is why I wanted to give her a softer eye look, Here’s what I came up with:

Products used:

Face: Hourglass veil primer, Neutrogena nourishing long wear foundation in the shade warm beige, MAC prep and prime in Bright forecast, Anastasia contour kit in the shade Fawn, MAC blush in peaches, The Balm Mary-Lou-Manizer for highlight.
Brows: Anastasia brow wiz in the shade chocolate
Eyes: MAC paint pot in “layin low” Naked 3 palette in the shades Dust (lid), Nooner (crease), Mugshot (outer corner) and Strange (brow highlight), Sephora Rio nights gel liner, Mascara Loreal Voluminous
Lips: Rimmel in Cherry kiss and MAC Fashion Revival lipstick

There you have it guys. Hopefully these looks can be of inspiration to you.
If anyone has any makeup looks you would want to me try please let me know down below.

Thanks to these silly girls for letting me experiment with them

Hasta Pronto!
-Gwen

First Look: New Maybelline Products

Posted on October 17, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Many makeup brands launch new items at the start of a new season and boy am I glad they do! I was of course doing my weekly browsing at my local CVS and came across a few new items from Maybelline, they are the Color Sensational Creamy Matte lipsticks, the Instant Age Rewind skin transformer and lastly the Brow Drama brow sculpting mascara.

Lets take a minute and talk about the fact that there is finally an affordable matte lipstick! (very few brands carry a matte line in the drugstore). That news alone is super exciting, but here are some other reasons why these lipsticks are great: texture is creamy and smooth, they set to a demi-matte (not drying like some of MAC’s lipsticks), they are pigmented and can last on the lips for about 4-5 hours (there will be some transfer if you’re eating, but you can easily apply another layer on top without it looking cakey). Here’s a closer look at the four shades I picked up.

Left-Right:
#660 Touch of Spice, #680 Mesmerizing Magenta, #690 Siren in Scarlet, #695 Divine Wine

Lip Swatches:

Touch of Spice: Brown nude

Mesmerizing Magenta: True magenta shade with a hint of a violet undertone

Siren in Scarlet: Cooler tone red

Divine wine: Dark Burgundy

On to the Primer and Brow mascara:

I’ve used this primer a few times and I can say that it has reduced the look of my pores. (Maybelline also claims that it will reduce the look of wrinkles, lines and imperfections but I did not notice much of that). The primer has a velvety consistency as well as a subtle pink tint in order to give skin a little radiance.

The Brow Mascara is meant for sculpting and adding a tint to your brows. In all honestly I only saw a slight difference in color on my brows and I am not a fan of the rounded tip for sculpting (My eyebrows are a bit thin and the “ball tip” wasn’t as precise as I would have liked.

Overall I am pretty happy with my new finds.
I am not sure if all of these items can be found in most drugstores but I do know Ulta carries each of them.

Maybelline at Ulta

Hasta Luego,
-Gwen

Breakups to Makeup/Smashbox

Posted on October 13, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

This past weekend I attended an event hosted by Sephora at the Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City. Smashbox cosmetics was there doing makeovers and demonstrating new products. I of course jumped on the opportunity to get my makeup done by one of their artists. I learned some new tricks on how to create a cat eyeliner (God knows I needed the help).
The creator of “Breakups to Makeup“, Angelique Velez was also there. Angelique launched Breakups to Makeup in June of 2013 with the intent to spread this message: “makeup serves as a creative outlet to those applying and livens the spirit of those wearing it” I couldn’t agree more!. Angelique has quickly made a name for herself with a bunch of fun merchandise. She is well-known for her catchy slogans such as “loved raised me lipstick saved me”, “I would cry but my mascara is designer” and so many more! Angelique was gracious enough to let me ask her a few questions about her brand:

Gwen: What inspired you to come up with “Breakups to makeup”?
Angelique: A few years back I went through a terrible breakup, but the only thing that enabled me to get out of bed was makeup. I have been a makeup artist for many years and I found comfort in knowing that I was getting out of bed to not only make myself happy by putting on my favorite lipstick but also because what I did made others happy as well.
Gwen:How do you come up with your slogans?
Angelique: My slogans come to me through day to day life experiences, for example one day I was getting my nails done at the salon and I thought wow I am totally useless right now (my nails were of course wet) which was when I came up with the “I’m only helpless when my nails are drying” slogan. I also like to carry a journal with me to jot down whatever pops into my head.
Gwen: What advice would you give to someone who is an up and coming artist/entrepreneur?
Angelique: I would say to listen to your heart and keep going. Not everyone is going to understand your path but its ok don’t listen to them, you’ll find your way.

The lovely Angelique and I

Here are the goodies I picked up from her collection as well as some Smashbox goodies.

Angelique will be at the Orlando Makeup show next. Go check her out if you’re in the area, you know Ari will definitely be there!

Quick Links: Breakups to Makeup
About
Merchandise
Products on Etsy

-Gwen

What’s in my makeup bag

Posted on August 11, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

While I am totally obsessed with makeup and would love to have a “beat” face during the week my super busy schedule does not allow me the time to get all dolled up, but I of course cannot leave the house looking sleep deprived so I wanted to show you all my weekday makeup bag.(I transform into a totally different person during the weekend, but we’ll save that for another post).

Morning Routine:
After washing my face and applying moisturizer I follow up with Revlon’s lightweight CC cream which helps even out my skin tone. Next I fill in my brows a bit with the brow wiz from Anastasia, to set them I add Benefit’s gimmie brow in the dark shade. During the summer months I don’t like to go too heavy with concealer so I apply NYX’s dark circle concealer which is creamy but more on the sheer side. My next step is Loreal’s voluminous full definition mascara, I then move on to dab a bit of Stila’s cheek and lip stain on the apples of my cheeks. Lastly I make sure my lips are hydrated by using Burt’s Bee’s chapstick.

Evening: If I happen to be going somewhere after work I will re-apply some of the blush, add a bit of Revlon’s illuminator as a cheek highlight and re-curl my eyelashes. A pop of lip color also transforms my minimal day time look for a evening out in the city. Mac’s Twig, Whitening lightening’s gloss in raspberry sherbet and Loreal’s Le Matte in the color “She’s so Matte” have been my favorites these days.

I also carry a roller ball perfume (Versace Bright Crystal), Evian facial mist for when I need to refresh my face, hand sanitizer and of course sunscreen.

Most of these products can be found in Sephora, Ulta or your local drugstore.

What are some of your weekday beauty must haves?
I would love to hear what they are, leave your comments down below!

Till next time
-Gwen

Shea Moisture

Posted on July 10, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Coconut and Hibiscus body butter, dry oil mist and hand & body scrub.

For the last month or so I have been using these three Shea Moisture products and I can’t say enough good things about each of them. Shea Moisture’s products contain naturally certified organic ingredients, they also take pride in not adding any potentially harmful chemicals such as parabens, paraffin, formaldehyde, propylene glycol, synthetic fragrance, petrolatum and lastly it is not tested on animals.
The Coconut & Hibiscus collection blends an exotic mix of fruit and floral ingredients giving this line the perfect summer island feel. I love anything coconut, so it was ultimately love at first sight. This specific line is said to help remedy some of the most common beauty woes such as dry skin and discoloration. The coconut oil penetrates into the skin leaving it deeply moisturized while the hibiscus flower brightens and tones your complexion. They also have a hair care line (I believe Ari has reviewed some of their products).
How to use:
First use the hand and body scrub all over my body while in the shower (Tip: exfoliating your legs before shaving leaves them feeling extra smooth)
Second I mix a quarter sized amount of the body butter with 2-3 spritz of the dry oil mix together and rub all over my legs, knees, arms pretty much everywhere.
* You do not have to mix the body butter and oil together it’s just my personal preference. The oil on its own leaves an amazing sheen on your body, perfect for a sexy night out. The body butter is thick an creamy leaving your body feeling silky smooth.
By using these three products my skin is left with an abundance of moisture and smelling like a delicious coconut drink.

These products are sold directly on Shea Moisture’s website or your local Target and Drugstore will carry them.

Links to Products:
Body Butter
Hand & Body Scrub
Dry Oil Mist

Happy Summer,
-Gwen

!!!!!!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

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

Go-To Curly Hair Products-Shea Moisture Line

Posted on May 17, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

So as mentioned in one of my previous hair post, I have taken on the task to try and nurture my hair back to health after a long time of chemically damaging it with relaxers and heat. I still from time to time use rollers, or straighten it but for the most part wear it in its natural curly state. Its been quite a journey figuring out what works best for my hair type and I am still learning as I go along. My main concerns were affordability and using natural products (to bring my hair back to life). In comes Shea Moisture products! This nutrient rich line is certified organic, cruelty free, dosent incoporate parabens or sulfates and the list goes on and on! With ingredients like coconut oil, silk protein and even yucca its hard to believe that both of these products are under $15.00 each. The curl enhancing smoothie was my first purchase followed by the thickening growth milk that I use in conjunction together. This combination works wonders for me and depending on how much hair you have and how much you use, these products go a long way. They are available at drug stores and also linked below!

They are all taped up from the travel and usage they have gotten!

Pros- Conditions Hair, Restores Moisture & Shine, Minimizes Frizz & provides control. Be sure to “rake” this thoroughly through your hair as to not have any clumping in any one specific area. It wont flake but it will be a bit greasy if not spread evenly or if too much is used. It does not leave my hair hard at all! Super soft with control, whats not to love?

I added this thickening growth milk to the mix after realizing the smoothie was for thick hair. I personally have very thin hair and this adds volume and also helps soften it. I mix this and a the smoothie in my palm and apply it generously in a “raking” motion. This can be used on damp on dry hair as a styling cream.

Stay tuned for a step by step curly wash and go routine!

-love

Ari

Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Yucca & Aloe Thickening Growth Milk