favorites – The Style Cake

5 Survival Tips for Winter 2020

Posted on January 24, 2020January 26, 2020 by The Style Cake

I’ve done one of these posts a couple of years back and I really think the tips could help get anyone through the perils of winter! This year, winter came out of nowhere, well, not really but it had been pretty mild considering I live in Michigan and then BAM! Snow, wind, cold, cloudy days and looooonnnnngggg nights! I usually have an easy time until the end of January hits and then I’m struggling to get through winter lol.

1. Let’s start with recreation. It can be human nature to simply stay in the bed, stay on the couch and binge watch tv or read, eat and become immobile. In reality, we were meant to discover, explore and venture out. To encourage mental health, getting out of the house is very important! Isolation is not healthy! Not even for introverts! Go grab a coffee at the local coffee spot, visit the library or art gallery or hit a winter festival. Grab a bite to eat at a local inexpensive restaurant nearby your home. Take a cooking class, go to your local hardware store and complete a project for the home. There are a plethora of options to choose of things to do besides sitting in the house the entire season of winter and this is coming from someone who hates winter!

2. Besides just getting out of the house, getting completely away from your environment and going on a weekend vacation is enough to revitalize your mind and body for a couple of months! Maybe visit a quaint town in your state and unplug from social media and technology. Take in the sights and feed your senses without any interference!

3. Body care is so important during this harsh time of the year. It’s easy to slack on skin care in particular because the sun isn’t shining through the cloud but sunscreen is still needed. As is moisture! Continue to drink plenty of water to hydrate the skin. Likely, the winter has plenty of dry moments so water will feed the body moisture from the inside to prevent cracking from dryness. Beyond that, below I’ve linked a few things I love to use for body care during winter months. One is a lip product, body and hair products and facial care products. Check them out below!

A. Chapstick Total Hydration 100% Natural (Eucalyptus Mint)

B. Koils By Nature Nourishing Hair and Body Butter

C. DDF Ultra Lite Oil Free Moisturizing Dew (Spf 15)

D. Vitamin D3 and Vitamin K2

E. Carol’s Daughter Wash Day Delight (Water to Foam Shampoo) [My new ABSOLUTE FAVORITE HAIR PRODUCT AND I WILL DO A DETAILED REVIEW SHORTLY! ;-)]

4. Let’s talk ducking and dodging colds, flu and other healthy efforts. One thing leads to another, right? Well, you NEED hand and body cream in the winter especially because hand washing is still important! How else can you avoid getting sick and stay in good health?! Starts with handwashing first! Since I already gave you a suggestion for dry cracked hands, I wanted to share what I like to keep on hand for immunity and health below!

A. Zarbee’s Naturals Elderberry Immune Support

5. Lastly, reorganize your life! This could include examining your personality, organizing closets and storage spaces, refreshing or learning new skills and/or working on your body and health more in depth. Have a person that you’ve been allowing in your life but they are dragging you down or isn’t supportive? Maybe it’s time to rethink your association. I’ve been doing a lot of rearranging myself, it takes work but it’s worth it! Decide to save money, go back to school, fix your credit or purge things while keeping only what you need! Taking the time to invest in yourself will take up a ton of your time and help you survive a possible tough couple of months in the cold!

2019 Favorites!!!

Posted on January 1, 2020January 27, 2020 by The Style Cake

Can’t believe it’s the year 2020! Time truly waits for no one and has flown by! This past year, I took a much needed break. I needed to focus on me.

In doing that, I had to really make some repairs to myself. I started taking full advantage of chiropractic care and really communicating with my doctor about how I wanted my healthcare to go. I was unwilling to be unheard as my health largely depended upon ME! It can be scary to not only speak up but also disagree with your doctor about the care that is being received. I had long conquered that fear because in the end, I pay for a service and refused to just go along with care that I didn’t agree with since I would be the one living with the end results.

Some things I refused to go to the doctor for. I was suffering terribly from skin issues. It seemed that no matter what I did, my skin condition worsened. I began to get frustrated as I was not even eating certain things that were known to aggravate my acne. The acne I was experiencing was cystic in nature. I sat in pain for days sometimes. My frustration increased when that wonderful time of the month rolled around, que eye rolls, I was also suffer from hormonal acne. Needless to say, I did heavy reading and research to figure some things out.

My hair was having shedding issues. Now I do have Hashimoto’s disease so the shedding can be a problem from time to time but my shedding became coupled with massive tangling and some breakage. Again, I did research and found what I needed to help.

I didn’t play in makeup much this year, I only wore makeup about 8 times this past entire year. I did make a purchase for some faves that I had run out of…I was a hostess in my big sister’s wedding so, you know how that goes…I HAD to look good! Otherwise, I made sure to focus on healing my skin. I will still share what I bought to replace my long used favorites!

I’m on a weight loss journey so I’ve been avoiding sugar and carbohydrates like my life depended on it, partly because it started to. I had gained weight due to medication and became insulin resistant. That insulin resistance made it incredibly difficult to lose ANY weight!!! When I tell you I cried (and I’m not a crier) but I swear I could have jumped out my window without opening it. I was so done. The only thing i could think of was trying the Keto ‘way of eating’ again. Honestly, Keto is not a diet to me. I’m not indulging in anything that can contribute to insulin resistance or diabetes. If you’re unsure, be sure to do your research. One thing is sure, the SAD diet (standard american diet) has the appropriate acronym. I’m not by any means telling anyone to do keto or low carb, do what works for you but please take care of your health and eat for nourishment! That being said, below I will list all of the faves I have for this past year.

I hope you have a great day, week, month and year! I’m back to go through it all with you! 💪🏾

Favorites of 2019

Health

Hair

Skin

Sports Research Vitamin K + D3 with Coconut Oil
Tumeric Powder (used to make a mask with milk, yogurt and honey)
Shea Moisture African Black Soap Problem Skin Toner
Philosophy the Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash
Tetyana Dark Spot Corrector Brightening Serum [LOVE this stuff!]

Keto/Eating

Makeup

My FAVORITE Face Primer

Posted on April 7, 2018March 26, 2018 by The Style Cake

I know, I know. It’s been soooo long since I’ve had my tail on here. I’m slowly moving back into blogging so please give me time lol. I thought since I’m making my way back, I’d let you guys in on what I’ve been loving. Now normally, I would do an entire list of favorites but that seems so impersonal sometimes. I dunno. I am WAY past due to review some products I received from Juice Beauty but I’m telling you it was worth the wait.

I generally like to really try products for quite a bit of time before I decide whether I love or hate them. That being said, I’ve been using the Juice Beauty Illuminating Primer and it is the only primer that I not only use but plan to purchase in the future. Now, coming from someone who may keep it a bit too real (so I’ve been told), that says a lot! I am helplessly in LOVE y’all!!!

So let me give y’all the scoop:

This primer feels so luxurious on the skin. It frankly reminds me more of a lotion than a primer. Primers can feel a little too silky, making you feel as if when you apply your foundation, it will slide right off your face. I actually hate primers like that. I also feel these primers give you that “hot” feeling in the summer…which brings me to my next bit of info. This primer is so light that you seriously don’t feel it on your face. If you like to “feel” your primer, this is not for you. I hate a clogged pore and I feel this primer is best for those concerned with not having an oil slick on their faces as well as for being able to maintain a great skincare routine. I am so into skincare right now so this does IT for me. It leaves a subtle glow, likely due to its iridescent, pearl-like color. I am a caramel color and this primer does not make me look ashy. Now, there have been some primer that promise to give you a glow that leave an ashy film on the face depending on the skin tone. With this primer, you get a great amount per bottle and I totally feel it’s worth the price. There are other primers that are super cheap but they just don’t measure up to this primer by Juice Beauty. You can use a liberal amount of this primer without worries. I’ve forgotten to put on moisturizer and I was still okay. There was no difference in the performance of my makeup than when I wear primer. It’s very moisturizing and has nothing but quality ingredients.

Some things to keep in mind are that you won’t get a ridiculous highlight with this primer. While it has a subtle glow, the focus is on great skin not on having a gleaming highlight. Also, this is not a primer with a super thick consistency. It’s made to feel like nothing is on the skin when you apply makeup. It’s made to be moisturizing on the skin so if you forget to wear a moisturizer or need a primer in a rush with not a lot of time for a million products, this will do the trick. The first ingredient is aloe vera. Can’t get better than that! That takes me lastly into this: it’s wonderful if you have sensitive skin! I am apart of the sensitive skin club and let me tell you, I have only been using this product under my makeup and when this bottle is done, I’ll be buying another one. I know I said my previous point was my last but I’d like to add that this is also the only primer where the quality of the bottle matches the contents and price. My bottle cap stays on. Yeah I know you’re thinking it may not be that important but the cap staying on the bottle prevents the pump nozzle from getting broken which in turns saves me headache of trying to get the darn primer out of the bottle. Plus, you’re not cheated on it looking like there’s more than there actually is.

Overall, I love this primer so much because I think all skin types can use it, even sensitive skin and it’s not a strong scent to it. The scent is barely noticeable. The bottle isn’t slippery so it won’t go flying out of your hand…that has happened to me before and you can knock someone out with a flying glass bottle. Would I recommend this primer? By now hopefully you know I certainly would! It’s a phenomenal primer and my fave of all the primers I’ve tried and I’ve tried a ton! So go ahead and get a sample of you still not convinced but let me tell you, I want paid to do this review and even if I were I’d have to tell you if I hated it. I love to spread a good word lol!

#Fall Lip Favorites

Posted on September 27, 2016September 27, 2016 by The Style Cake

If you follow me on IG, I posted this picture:

Immediately I got a ton of comments on the lip color! Specifically, one of my IG friends asked me what color combo I used to achieve this look. So I decided it would be fun to get a list of my favorite lippies for the fall season as well as info on this particular look. I will also try to include the direct link info to find the lippies! Let me know if you have any questions and have fun shopping for vampy colors! 💋

Later Cupcakes!

Here is the lip combo that I’m wearing above: ColourPop Trap, Maybelline Berry Bossy (820), and ColourPop Creature.

Besides those colors, here is a list of my favorite fall lippies that I’ve worn for this past year, some longer.

Anastasia Beverly Hills: Heathers and Sad Girl.
Maybelline: Smoking Red (795) and Midnight Merlot (790).
Milani Cosmetics: Flirt and Embrace (sold out).
Iman Cosmetics: Wild Thing (001).
The Lip Bar: Sweet Shiraz (discontinued).
MAC Cosmetics: Riri Woo (sold out) and Sin.
Sephora Lip Cream: Always Red (01)
NYX Cosmetics: Copenhagen Soft Matte Lip Cream.
Colourpop: LAX, Avenue, Rooch and Dalia (discontinued).

Lip Liners: MAC Cosmetics Currant & Vino.

Fall 2015 Beauty Favorites (Pass or Purchase)

Posted on December 16, 2015 by The Style Cake

*Pictures are cellphone captures*

It has been quite some time since I’ve done my beauty/life favorites but I promise to remain consistent from here on out. That being said, I will do favorites of beauty (and other categories) seasonally. At the end of each season I will discuss and review products and share my purchase regrets as well. I decided the end of the season would be best considering that I will have tried and tested the products for a decent amount of time. I want each option to be well informed and honest. Now that the formalities” are out of the way, let’s get into what I’ve been loving this past fall.

1. Maybelline Push Up Drama Mascara:

As soon as I saw this mascara, I knew that I wanted to try it. It actually is a really decent mascara. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this a 7. It does add volume to the lashes but the claim of pushing up the lashes is definitely a gimmick and it worked to get me to try lol. Verdict: pass on this.

2. Makeup Revolution Bronzers:

I heard about these on Youtube. I am far from being a product junkie because I’ve already come and gone through that phase. However, when I see a good product for a reasonable non over inflated price, I have to check it out at least. This brand has one of those products. Makeup Revolution’s Bronzers are the bomb diggity. They show up great, pally evenly, are not glittery and best of all they only cost 6 bucks! They stand up against higher end priced brands without effort. You can purchase from Ulta online. Verdict: Purchase.

3. Makeup Revolution Lipstick:

So we just talked about this brand’s bronzers, let’s discuss quickly their lipsticks. I bought their lipstick in Vamp and I have to say it is one of my favorite lip colors of all. The shade of the lip color fits the name so perfectly. It’s a hybrid of burgundy and plum with the perfect “neutral” undertones so that it looks good on against skin tone. The formula of the lipstick is rather slippery although it is supposed to be matte. While the lipstick is a little slippery (or satin), it is pretty long lasting. Since the piece point is low, I think it’s more than worth it. Verdict: Purchase.

4. Dr. Brandt’s Pore Eraser:

I received this as a gift from a beauty purchase a couple of months ago. It smooths the skin wonderfully and allows foundation and powder to be applied to the face evenly and flawlessly. It didn’t leave my face greasy and I have tried this product with and without moisturizer. Would I recommend this? Verdict: Purchase.

5. Bobbi Brown Peach Color Corrector:

Definitely one of my favorite products for the entire year. It’s not too thick, or thin. It applies evenly and covers a multitude of darks marks and under eye half circles. I don’t use concealer in my makeup routin to highlight my under eye area. I use this color corrector. I get brightened highlighted areas and I love the natural look of using the color correction instead of the popular layers of concealer (that is sometimes way too light). If you’re looking for a good color corrector, I recommend this one. Be prepared to spend money but…Verdict: Purchase.

6. Cucumber Face Mask:

I am a lover of the spa. Although I rarely get the opportunity to get to go to one. That being said, I like to create the spa experience at home. This mask is the loveliest most inexpensive spa style product ever! It digs deep in those pores and I personally felt refreshed after using it. My skin is a bit sensitive and this did not break me out so for a little over a dollar per packet this is a great deal! Verdict: Purchase.

7. MAC Cosmetics Vino Lip Liner:

This has been my favorite lip liner for all reds and darker vampy lip colors this fall. The pictures will show the gorgeous addition to a look this lip liner brings. Verdict: Purchase.

8. Mariah Carey “Butterfly” Perfume:

Normally in the summer, my favorite fragrance is Aquolina’s Pink Sugar. I decided to switch things up for the fall and Mariah Carey’s Butterfly perfume became that fragrance that I reached for most often. It reminds me of toasted marshmallows and a fire pit on a brisk fall day. It’s a very warm scent and is a bit mature despite the fun marshmallow base notes. This perfume is not pricey at all but after its finished I’ll be ready to move on to the next fragrance. Verdict: Pass.