Photo Courtesy of http://beautifulwithbrains.com

Find the full list of the 400 lipsticks tested by clicking here.

For more information on the FDA's Lipstick and Lead Study click here. 

P.S. I'm very pleased to report that MAC's Ruby Woo was not found on the list so... VIVA LA RUBY WOO! lol

See what had happened was, as of November 2010 my hair looked like this 

Needless to say I was super proud of myself.  I wanted to maintain my length so I challenged myself to rock protective styles for most of the winter, specifically from Christmas until Easter.  It was tough but I did and my hair did grow.  BUT in light of my progress I grew cocky and complacent and starting neglecting steps of my hair regimen.  Specifically the most time consuming steps,  the pre-poo and the deep conditioning with heat. As a result my hair, albeit long, was lifeless, limp and stringy.  And it looked like this. 

No bueno.  So frustrated and disappointed , I consulted with my stylist and my hair journal and we all noticed the how lazy I'd become in my hair regimen. This was probably around May 1st.  At that point I began to reintegrate extensive deep conditioning back into my regimen. Prepooing every wash and deep conditioning with heat.  I'm super pleased to report my hair is on the come back. After prepooing overnight from Friday to Saturday I headed to the Dominican's around my way for a wash and set.  After she washed me with Aphogee's Shampoo for Damaged Hair, I sat under the dryer with a moisturizing deep conditioner for about 20-25 minutes. After my roller set, I added heat protectant and had my roots blown out slightly (I'm 6wks posts) and had them pin curl my hair.  When I took my curls out the next morning, I loved my result so much that I recorded this video. I wanted to share it on the blog as well.

The moral of the story. The hair journey comes with setbacks and they do suck.  But we can learn from them and make changes to turn things around.  It's never the end of the world.  I'm sure I'll be back on track completely by the Fall and I'm excited. Keep taking care of your hair ladies ( and gents). Happy Hair Growing and stay tuned for my next update.  #PROGRESS 

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion 

Mac's Groundwork Paint Pot

Mac's Delft Paint Pot

Mac's Humid Eyeshadow

Mac's Sumptuous Olive Eyeshadow

Mac's Contrast Eyeshadow

Mac's Meet The Fleet Eyeshadow

Face Front Cosmetics Mad Money Pigment

Mac's Golden Olive Pigment

FaceFront Cosmetics Aqua Marina Pigment

Loreal Paris Lineur Intense Liquid Liner in Carbon Black 

Adell Lashes#305

Face

Mac's Studio Fix Conecealar NW40

Covergirl Transluscent Powder Honey

Mac's Bronzing Powder 

Mac's Raizin Blush

Lips

Mac's Chestnut Lip Pencil

NYX Tanned Mega Shine Lip Gloss

Today was a terrible camera day.  I did , or thought I was doing a tutorial, and when I went to watch the playback I learned that I was off camera for 98% of the time that I was filming.  This just hasn't really been my week.  But I wanted to come and post something so , Ladies and Gents I give you my very first Face of The Day (FOTD).  I gravitated toward blues this morning.. I wore black and grey to church today and I wanted to add a little punch of color.  The look was super quick and easy and got a bunch of complement, so I'm guessing it went well. Check out the flicks and the products used below. 

Eyes

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil (Milk) (Mobil Lid Base)

Urban Decay Primer Potion (Base)

Mac's Contrast Eyeshadow (Outer Third)

Mac's Deep Truth Eyeshadow (Mid Third) 

Mac's Electric Eel ( Inner Third) 

Mac's Reflects Blue Pigment (Applied Over Electric Eel)

Face Front Pow Bam Wow Pigment ( Applied Over Deep Truth)

Loreal Paris Lineur Intense Carbon Black

Loreal Telescopic Mascara in Blackest Black

Face

Mac's NW 40 Studio Fix Concealer 

Cover Girl Queen Collection Liquid Concealer in Golden Dorado

Cover Girl Transluscent Powder in Honey 

Mac's Raizin Blush (Contour) 

NYX Cinnamon Blush 

Lips 

NYX Lollipop LipGloss

Back again with another look. I guess you can call it simple glam.  It's an exaggerated cat-eye (winged  liner) and a pale pink lip. I recorded this tutorial a couple of months back but never posted it. SMH. Isn't that terrible. Anyway the vid, a list of products and a flick or two are provided below.  It's a simple look.. great for a date or a party/club situation.  Me,  I wore it to church.. lol... Pick your pleasure.  

Tutorial 

Products Used 

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion 

Mac's Saddle Eyeshadow

Mac's Brown Script Eyeshadow

Mac's Vanilla Eyeshadow

Mac's Fluidline (BlackTrack) 

Loreal Paris Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner (Carbon Black) 

Ardell Lashes in 305

Mac's Studio Fix Mascara 

Face

Mac's Studio Tech Concealer (NW40)

Mac's Moisture Cover Concealer (NW45) 

Presecriptives Loose Powder (Deep)

Mac's MSF ( Deep Dark) 

Lips

Mac's Chestnut Lipliner 

Mac's Viva Glam Lady Gaga Lipstick 

Mac's Pink Meringue Lipglass 

I’m here to talk hair.   We all know that college campuses are often where healthy hair goes to die.  I’ve seen the dorm room perms and color jobs go all together wrong and I don’t want anyone else to fall victim.  It’s easy for our hair to suffer when we no longer have the access or resources to maintain our weekly/biweekly hair appointments. Don’t forget the trauma associated with the over processing and styling and under conditioning.   Ya’ll know one thing that I just can’t take, is unhealthy crunchy chewed up hair.  We’ve got to keep our hair conditioned, moisturized, healthy and shining even while away at school and I’ve found a way.  I was a skeptic myself but you can achieve beautiful, soft, bouncy, defined and HEALTHY curls in your dorm room/campus apartment.   It’s the Caruso Molecular Steam Hair Setter.  I’ve seen a few YT vids on them and decided to try them out myself.   These sets are available at Sally’s Beauty Supply and other Beauty Supply Retailers across the country.  They retail for about $39.00.  

All in all I’d say the Caruso Steam Rollers are a sound investment for any dorm room diva.  They are quick, easy and practical.  The set includes the steamer and 30 rollers ranging in sizes petite to jumbo.  The manual provides detailed instructions for the use and maintenance of the set and a styling guide.  The guide comes in three different languages and caters to a wide variety of hair types and textures.  The uniquely designed rollers infuse moisture into your hair and using the steam is a much more healthy form of styling than using thermal tools like curling and flat irons.  These rollers are super quick and practical.  I set my entire head in about 20 minutes and less than an hour later I was done.com.  My only grip was that I’d prefer having more of the larger than the smaller rollers.  But according to the box and instruction manual you can order additional roller sets as needed.  A word of caution, be very careful when applying and removing the roller covers.  Rushing through and snatching and grabbing will lead to your hair getting caught in them and possibly breaking. 

My hair is fine and the big juicy volume that these rollers gave my hair was enough to make me TEAM CARUSO.  Baby you couldn’t tell me nothing, People kept asking   “is that all you?” I couldn’t even be mad,  cause it did look as if I’d had a couple of tracks added for reinforcement.  If you have hair like mine and even if you don’t I highly recommend this set.  I went out last night and my curls held up well.  The fell a bit but they didn’t totally flop. I was super impressed especially since the NYC humidity was oppressive as always.  Next time I’ll let them sit for a bit longer to see if that contributes to the curl’s staying power. In any case, I vote two thumbs wayyyy up.  I love the rollers so much I’ll probably be giving away a set as a prize in my upcoming Back to School Look Contest, that I’m putting together for my readers and YouTube family.  Ya’ll keep it here for the details!!!

So I'm here with something a little different this week.  Instead of a tutorial, I thought I'd give a little information that'll help you in your quest for quintessential fabulosity on your struggling student budget.  I'm giving my two cents on Maybelline's Falsies Volum Express Mascara.  Ya'll know how much I love  a good lash and Maybelline's claim to achieve the look of falsies without actually applying them peaked my interest. During yesterday's bi-weekly Walmart run I threw one in the cart.  I used it this morning and here are my two cents.

First things first, for me the mascara is cute, but I definitely didn't look like I was rocking a pair of Wispies. The wand is really small and it has a bent head that's super pliable which makes for a super easy application. When applying the first coat I really loved how the product separated my lashes but the more coats I applied the clumpier and gunkier it got. Now this could be a result of my novice mascara application skills, but I don't have this problem when applying other mascaras.  It did give me good volume at the base of my lashes but I honestly was underwhelmed by the length. I've seen these lashes STRETCH at the hands of other products.   Check out a flick and see for yourself. 

Don't worry all is not loss.  I paid all of $5.74 for this mascara and in the shade saturated words of the inimitable Mother Tim Gunn, we MAKE IT WORK.

I normally use a mascara primer, but wanted to use the product as is for the purposes of this review.  But I really think that using one could give this mascara the umph that it needs.  Think about it, primers are used to give your makeup something to adhere to.  It's all about building layers of goodness on top of one another. They also help protect your lashes, strengthen and condition them. 

So with that being said, without a primer I'd give Maybelline's Falsies Volum Express a B-. Not a failing grade but definitely room for improvement.  Tomorrow I'll use it with a primer and keep you posted.  

As always thanks for your support and please feel free to let me know of any other product reviews you wish to see. 

Till Next Time, 

Tykeia

aka 

TheGlamNERD

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion

NYX Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk 

Urban Decay Pigment (Yeyo) 

Mac's Chrome Yellow Shadow 

Beauty From The Earth Pigment (Lemon)

NYX Matte Orange Eyeshadow

Beauty From The Earth Pigment (Tangerine) 

Loreal Paris Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner Carbon Black 

Mac's Prep and Prime Lash

Mac's Opulash in Bad Bad Black 

Face

Mac's Moisture Cover NW45

Prescriptives Loose Powder Deep 4

Mac's Bronzing Powder 

Lips

Chestnut Pencil 

Milani's Glitzy Glamour Gloss Hot Pink

Hey Guys, 

I 'm back with a makeup tutorial. I finally broke down and picked up a 88 Eyeshadow Palette from Coastal Scents and decided to break it out for the smokey coral colored eye.  I had a lot of fun putting the look together and I think it came out nice.  Check out a  full list of products, some more flicks and the tutorial below. More info on my hair in the vid as well  I hope you enjoy and thanks so much.. 

Eyes

Mac's Coral Crepe Paint Pot

Coral Eyeshadow Coastal Scents Palette

Silver/Metallic Eyeshadow Grey Coastal Scents 

Matte Black Eyeshadow Coastal Scents 

Mac's Club Eyeshadow

Mac's Expensive Pink 

Loreal Paris Liquid Liner Carbon Black 

Mac's Feline Eye Kohl 

Mac's Pre and Prime Lash 

Mac's Studio Fix Mascara 

Ardell Lashes 305

Face

Mac's MSF Foundation NC50

Mac's Studio Fix Concealer NC 40 

Mac's Moisture Cover Concealer NW 45

Mac's Sheer Pressed Powder NW 43

Mac's MSF in Deep Dark 

Nars Love Joy Blush 

Lips 

Nars Giza Lip Gloss

NYX Espresso Lipliner 

So I put together a look that features some pretty purple's to punch up an all black outfit and decided to share it with you YouTube GlamNERDS Fam.  I got a request for some prom looks and I guess you can say this is the first of a few. Below you'll find the tutorial, some photos and a full list of all the products that I used. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to send an email to Tykeia@theGlamNERDS.com. Enjoy 

Eyes

Mac's Blackground  Paint Pot ( Base) 

Mac's Vibrant Grape ( Style Warriors Collections)

Mac's Stars and Rockets

NYX Black Matte Eyeshadow

Loreal Intense Liquid Eyeliner Carbon Black 

Mac's Feline Eye Kohl 

Cover Lash Blast Lash Extends in Blackest Black 

Mac's Plush Lash Mascara in Black 

Face 

Mac's Moisture Cover Concealar NC 40 

Mac's Mineralized Skin Finish in Deep Dark

NYX Pecan Blush

Lips

NYX Toast Lip Liner

Mac's Beaux Plush Glass