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

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

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

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

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

Dry Shampoo

Posted on May 1, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Left-Right Aveeno Pure Renewal Dry Shampoo, Batiste Dry Shampoo (for dark and deep brown hair) and Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo for brunettes

Hey there everyone! Now ladies I know that most of us lead such busy lives causing to sometimes skip that hair wash we desperately need (Yes I said it). Guilty is written all over this girl who will wear a bun all week long, alas in comes the wonderful invention of the dry shampoo! This product has been out for some time now but different brands are now coming up with various alternatives for those with lighter or darker hair, some even have a red hair option. Here are the three that I have tried and my thoughts on why I did/ did not like them.

First up is the Aveeno Pure Renewal it is said to rejuvenate your hair for a clean and fresh look by removing excess oil and helping boost volume. It is also sulfate free. The price ranges between $5.99 – $8.99 depending on where you buy it. I personally LOVE the way this smells but because my hair is dark it did leave a white layer over it, which was a bit difficult to blend out. The formula itself isn’t too heavy or sticky but I found it did very little for my oily hair.

Next up is the Batiste Dry Shampoo which claims that a quick burst will instantly revitalize hair leaving it fresh and clean. It also has a tint of color making it easy to blend with your natural (or dyed) hair color. The price ranges between $7.49-$8.99. I purchased the dark to deep brown color (but they have a blond, medium brown and red tone as well). I’ve only used this one about 3 times but in that short amount of time I have found that this one really worked for me. It has a light airy feeling to it but still manages to absorb the oil without making my hair look too matte. The color matched perfectly with my hair and it also smelled super clean!

Lastly is the Drybar Detox for brunettes, running you at $20 which is a bit on the pricier side. This product claims to also absorb oil leaving your hair feeling clean light and full. It matches my hair perfectly as well and it does absorb the oil but it has a very heavy feeling and leaves my hair looking more matte and stiff than I would like. Another con for me is that the sprayer lets out so much product that it gets everywhere! My normally white shower curtain has brown stains because of it.

And there you have it my friends. In case you haven’t already guessed it, my favorite Dry Shampoo is the Batiste! Good quality along with a good price!

Below are links to purchasing these products. I found both the Aveeno and Batiste products at Ulta but I believe they are also sold in drugstores or Walmart. The Drybar Detox is sold on Drybar’s website but I found mine at Sephora.

Aveeno Pure Renewal
Batiste Dry Shampoo
Drybar Detox

Hasta Luego,
-Gwen

Revlon by Marchesa Review

Posted on April 28, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

I love me an at home manicure and what else is better than a cute set to keep my nails looking proper at all times! My lovely sister sent an awesome care package that included these products (will feature the rest in a different post). The packaging and design make all the difference with these everyday items. In collaboration with Revlon designer Marchesa added a touch of pink and florals that really make the average tools that much more awesome!

-The dual ended cuticle trimmer can be used to push back your cuticles as well as trim them up if needed.
-Nail clipper has a curved blade and small file
-The emery board has a floral design to file and also buff and shine on the opposite end
-The handy case protects and keep everything in place!

She also included a mini “to go” tweezer set that includes a slant and point tip for all of my tweezing needs! How freaking adorable are these babies?!

This and other designs can still be found at your local drugstores like CVS, Walgreens as well as Target.

Off to pamper myself!

-Ari

Designer Spotlight- Kate Spade New York

Posted on April 23, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Being a fan of “Kate Spade New York” is something that has come with age and experience. Her sophisticated lady like aesthetic, appeals to those who like your classic all american tailored looks with a touch of fun and sparkle in the mix. Her clothing allows for casual lunch dates to corporate office savvy looks all with great detail, color and of course quality. From graphic prints and the classic hallmarks (three-leaf clover and quirky quotes like “live colorfully”) Kate Spade New York expands in categories like clothing, jewelry, shoes, eyewear, bedding, gifts, stationary etc. Kate Brosnahan Spade set out to first design the perfect handbag and has now broadened into the power house company it is today in just 18 years! Both Gwen and I love this brand and can only wish to own more pieces! Along with my phone, iPad cases and wallet check out my previous way I styled my classic nude chain link Kate Spade purse. Their new collection “21 days in Monaco” features neutrals with pops of red and fun bright patterns. Featured on the site is also the official Kate Spade New York blog in which each column offers differing insight, tutorials and even tips from their brand stylist Brad Goreski (former Rachel Zoe associate). I love everything this classic brand represents and the beautiful products that allow me to transition from a quirky adolescent to a young flourishing lady who doesnt have to give up that special quality she loves in an outfit. Here are some items on my current wish list….oh to dream!

Shop this look!

Paris and the Single Girl Book Clutch $328.00

Victory Goal Taza $298.00

Grand Tour Wicker Camera Bag $298.00

-Ari

April Ipsy Glam Bag Review

Posted on April 20, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

April’s Ipsy bag is a lovely addition to my collection this month. I really haven’t had the time to go out and physically buy any new cosmetics (Ive been needing a new mascara for ages!) so times like this its always nice to check my mail and have some cool new products to try. This months actual makeup bag was not my favorite but overall the products it contained were great and made up for it.

This tinted lip balm from the brand “Cailyn” in Apple Pink has very interesting packaging. The base pot holds a nice amount of the balm, while you are provided with a convenient lip brush attached at the top. I love the color pay off (looks more coral on my lips) and the brush is definitely needed since the color is sort of difficult to spread evenly. Nice aesthetic appeal and great product!

I dont personally use mousse on my hair (only natural products for my curls) but I will be re-gifting this since it is a reputable brand and may work for some with less dry hair.

This product leaves little to be desired just by the looks, but when I actually swatched and used it on my eye it was great! It is an eyeshadow mousse, very creamy texture and the color payoff is amazing. On my personal skin tone it looks more gold and its very shimmery. The consistency is thick (mousse like) and seems to stick and have a long wear.

This sample size skin exfoliant is awesome! It smells very tropical and the micro beads really feel like they are deep cleaning my skin. I don’t know if over time it will improve the overall texture or quality. Stay tuned!

Lastly, this urban decay 24/7 black velvet eye pencil is of course a winner! Super pigmented, great for the water and tight line or even your lid since it glides on super smooth. Perfect to wear alone, or smoke out and make for a more smoldering look.