julep – The Style Cake

Beauty Mondays: 90's Makeup (Fall 2015)

Posted on August 17, 2015 by The Style Cake

Warning: Long Post and plenty of pictures.

Is it obvious yet that I am ready for fall? Lol. Well, I just love the vampy fall colors in makeup and clothing that go with the season. I hate that winter follows, so that’s the only part I don’t like about Autumn. I was actually wearing makeup in the 90’s so I know first hand what he makeup looked like. There were browns, muted oranges, brick and burnt reds, dark lip liners, thick natural non-uniformed brows, and natural blush colors. I made some recent purchases that I would like to share as well as some oldies that I already had in my arsenal that go with the fall 90’s theme.

First up is nail polish. Essie’s new Leggy Collection has two colors that I swooned over at first sight. “With the Band” is a burnt but cool toned, sort of brick red that looks great against any skin tone and color in my opinion. It is the epitome of the 90’s. The other color by Essie I love is “In the Lobby”. This color is dark, vampy and bold. It boasts the look of a red based plum that reminds me of nail colors worn all the time two decades ago. The formula goes on really smooth and pigmented which I appreciate because even if you’re not professional, you can get that spa treatment look on your nails. Check out the pics below!

Still talking nail polishes, I have three polishes by Julep, two lacquers by Floss Gloss and one more by Revlon that fit right into my faves for the upcoming season. The Julep colors are: Sharna, Lindsay and Coco. All three are lovely and some of my fave colors. Sharna shines as a shabby golden bronze. The Floss Gloss colors are: “Gangsta Boo” (red) and “Blood Suede & Tears” (reddish burnt brown). These colors go on rather thin and can appear streaky if you are not great at polishing nails. Just sayin. The colors are absolutely 90’s and gorg!! THE perfect red! Lastly, Revlon has a color “Velvet Rope” that screams old school. I don’t know why but this color reminds me of Halle Berry circa 1994. These polishes are some some of my oldies but goodies. Check out all the pic below!

(left) Gangsta Boo & Blood, Suede and Tears

Next is makeup! My favorite part! I have some lipsticks, a blush, a bronzing highlighter and a lip cream that I am showcasing. I absolutely can’t wait til Autumn so I can start rocking these beauties. Before I get into color, I actually grabbed MAC’s Fix + spray as I LOVE it so much! I’ve tried other sprays low and higher end and I always go back to my Fix +. It blends my makeup so well and will be another staple this upcoming season. The blush I’m loving for the upcoming season is MAC’s Ambering Rose. The bronzing highlighter in Glistening Sun (by Maybelline Dream Mousse) has a similar effect. It offers a natural highlight without the intensity and extreme glitters of other highlighters. It totally reminds of a glorious sunset in the container and the glow of one when applied to the face. It’s warm orangey tone and small flacks of shimmer brighter the face naturally as it adds a sheen. The lip cream is obviously by Nyx and the color is London. I think that it is the perfect nude for fall. It’s warm and has a pink and peach undertone that won’t wash out the skin. For lipsticks, I chose all MAC lipsticks (not on purpose) but they all remind me of colors I wore in the 90s. All except two colors are limited edition but you can find dupes for the limited edition colors. Check out the pics below and let me know what beauty products you are planning to use this fall!

My Winter Skin Care Routine

Posted on January 16, 2015 by The Style Cake

So….it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Life has a way of intervening but I am now truly getting back into this thing I love: blogging. Anyhoo, on to the main feature of this post: my winter skin care routine. For those of you that don’t know, I live in the state of Michigan and in the winter my skin needs tlc because the air is so very cold and dry. It took me a little while to get a good routine going because I had to find products that truly satisfied my skin. First, let me say that I wear makeup occasionally. More often than not, I wear a little clear gloss, neaten my brows and hustle out of the door. However, there are moments in time that I will wear makeup several days in a row. When I do, I must detox my skin after. One of my fav products to do this happens to be GlamGlow’s SuperMud. This product leaves my skin refreshed and clean without feeling stripped. The smell of it reminds me of mint and black licorice but I will deal with that for the benefits. Impurities are pulled from my skin and I can truly rid my skin of the leftover makeup residue that even washing leaves behind. After I use the SuperMud, I follow right behind with the ThirstyMud. This hydrates my skin without making my skin look oily. I tend to do this detox routine at least once a month. Occasionally, I use the YouthMud on my face after that feminine time of the month (because my skin stretches out due to some water weight gain) to reduce the appearance of darkness after the water weight recedes. Don’t judge me lol. This is my routine straight, no chaser. The YouthMud can feel a little….umm…volatile, if I may use that word, on the skin. It burns quite a bit. However, I do see a change in my skin. Hyper pigmentation has been reduced over time and my skin feels smoother.

*Side note, sometimes I use the SuperMud and the ThirstyMud BEFORE I do my makeup and my skin looks luminous! I love that!

Next, I will talk about my everyday skin routine. I typically don’t do much or use a ton of products because I don’t want to “confuse” my skin. In this dry air, moisture is top priority. I use to think that because my face has an oily t-zone, that meant my face could not get dry. Wrong! Dry skin can happen to anyone. My fav thing to use this season as a cleanser is Julep’s Bare Face Cleansing Oil. I rub the cleanser on my face, let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse it off. My face has no residue left behind and my skin is left moisturized and “bright”. After cleansing, I follow up with my Vitamin C Skin Boost by the Body Shop in my “highlight” facial areas. I also use REN Hydra-Calm a Day Cream on the rest of my face. I do this in the morning and before bed. Lastly, I take Hair, Skin & Nail vitamins daily.

*Side note: To take makeup off I use Witch Hazel and for acne pimples, I use Oxy Spot Treatment.

On my lips, I use a very popular baby product: A+D Ointment. It doesn’t have the best ingredients but I love it to “seal” out the cold dry air. Other lip balms seem to dissipate from my lips during cold months still leaving my lips dry so this ointment does the trick for me.

So that’s my complicated yet simple skin routine. Along with this routine, I eat a healthy diet to compliment my outer efforts to maintain healthy skin in these cold winter months. How do you take care of your skin in these cold brutal months?

Julep Maven…Maybe?

Posted on October 22, 2013 by The Style Cake

Soooo…..I know that everyone has heard of Julep and perhaps have seen what the company has to offer while browsing the website. I was subscribed to Julep as a “Maven” ~~a couple~~ a few years ago but I was not that thrilled with the company even though I had not tried out the polish. That being said, with the season of autumn here I decided to try one of the polishes that I purchased way back when since it was a dark polish. I will not be displaying this polish however I will say that in comparison to Revlon, Maybelline, and China Glaze, Julep’s polish lasted the longest and took the longest time to chip. I decided that I wanted to try Julep again. I will soon do a review on the polishes but at this point I would like to review the service and show what I have gotten. Stay tuned for a brief review with pictures of the polishes that I got and pictures of what I got (initial impressions after the jump).

Nail polish remover with a pump. Saves product and is sanitary.

Can’t wait to try this topcoat. I heard it’s great!

My face serum was leaking into the little box it came in.

Julep Maven

Posted on December 10, 2011 by The Style Cake

So…I’m not one to follow what everyone else is buying but I must admit that I was quite intrigued when I saw a Youtube video about the Julep Maven program. I’m a polish junkie and I wanted to see how this nail/beauty company added up. I tried the company out and needless to say, I can do without this program. The program consists of paying $19.99 per month and in return, you get nail lacquers and/or hand and foot care products. The products are pretty good, in particular, my fav is the hand glycolic cream. Other than this, I think that you are better off going to Walgreens or CVS and picking up Sinful Colors or going to Sally Beauty and getting OPI and China Glaze. My fav nail polish for a while is made by American Apparel. It’s cheaper than most, you don’t need 2 coats, and the color variety is great! Julep polishes are okay but I tend to think that these NEED two coats, contrary to their claim that you only need one coat. I just think for $19.99, you could get something better![slideshow]