Cakey make-up is out, flawless effort is in!

Caked on, overly noticeable makeup on anyone’s face is not at all attractive. I prefer soft foundation doing what it is supposed to be doing—evening skin tone and concealing blemishes, while looking effortless. I cannot stand girls who have caked on foundation, and what bugs me more is women who have a one colored face and a different colored neck….ladies, find someone to assist you in the search for foundation!!I’ve tried MAC foundations and found them to be a bit heavy. While MAC offers many different shades and one is sure to find an ideal match, oftentimes MAC leaves women looking overdone. What’s worse is I’ve noticed in some photos that you can see how much foundation I have on! Flawless, effortless beauty is what we should strive for on a day to day basis.

I tried Dior Skin AirFlash Spray Foundation last year, and this product is just amazing. The AirFlash delivered a great even skin tone while providing me with a healthy glow. I only ever used this product while getting my makeup done for events and always wanted to purchase it. It comes in a little spray can, and you can either spray this directly onto your face (don’t recommend it) or onto a disposable makeup sponge and apply to your face. It’s nice and moisturizing too, leaves my skin feeling soft and healthy. This product comes with quite a steep price tag--$60 for a 2.3 oz can. Another set back--it only comes in 5 shades which can be quite limiting. Their darkest shade would not even accommodate dark chocolate African American skin tones, which I think is just shameful on Dior’s part!

A good friend of mine introduced me to Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer just last year, and this product is absolutely fabulous and a good alternative to Dior. It’s just $18 less than the Dior Skin AirFlash Spray Foundation (for those who are arithmetically challenged--$42), but the Laura Mercier product boasts twice as many shades and even has an oil free alternative. The Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer is equally as fantastic and I definitely recommend this product as a suitable alternative to the Dior Skin AirFlash Spray Foundation. I know the $42 price tag is a bit steep, so I assure you I will try and find another less pricey foundation. While I was on a budget, I used the MAC Studio Tech foundation, which was just $29. Oh but I forgot to add--the Laura Mercier has SPF20!!!! Awesome skin and UV protection! I have never tried a drug store brand foundation though I fully intend on it just for the sake of this blog and for my readers. I am quite intrigued by the Maybelline True Match makeup line because they claim to give you an effortless look. I’ll make myself the test dummy and show you all how it compares to the Laura Merciers and Diors of the makeup world!

*photos courtesy Sephora.com

Sulfate-Free Shampoos, Salon Style and Drugstore Brands

I’ve been dying my hair for over 4 years, and I know the importance of buying shampoo that is solely for color-treated hair. I’ve had the awful brassy hair because I used regular shampoos. So my stylist at Savoie Hair, Brenda, recommended that I use Enjoy Shampoo and Conditioner a few years back. It is a special sulfate-free formula that prevents your hair color from stripping away and turning brassy. I loved it! It came in a bottle that lasted me 2-3 months and I felt the Shampoo Conditioner combo really worked! They sell a ton of different shampoos, from hydrating, volumizing and rejuvenating. (I used the hydrating because my hair gets frizzy).

But it was super pricey! It is about $18 for a 10.5 oz bottle from the salon, so it came to be $36 for a 2-3 month supply of shampoo and conditioner. Kind of out of control, but I was very loyal to this product and my hair didn’t turn brassy, so I stuck with it. It also smelled really good! But at almost $40 for just shampoo, I had to rethink my approach to hair care.

So glad that L’Oreal caught on to the need of sulfate-free shampoos for color-treated hair!! L’Oreal last year released their Ever Pure line made especially for hair dyers like me. I couldn’t wait to go to Target and pick it up—it was only $7 a bottle! A huge savings, and it smelled really nice too. They too have different types of Sulfate Free shampoos, from the Volumizing type, Smoothing and Moisturizing.

I think this product is a great alternative to Enjoy! I’m saving a lot of money and the shampoo and conditioner combo works really well. It comes in different scents, Rosemary, Juniper, and Mint...but I could not stand the smell of the mint so I avoided that one.

Definitely recommend this as an alternative product for avid hair-dyers like myself who wanna save money on shampoo.

*photo credits: JoyBeauty.com & L'Oreal Paris