About Vanessa

Hi :-) Welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy my posts. Feel free to leave me comments and I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have! *Disclaimer* I am not affiliated with any cosmetic companies. All products shown on here have been purchased with my own money and I have not been paid to review/post/advertise any products. If any company sends me a product to review, I will disclose this information in the post. All products will be reviewed honestly, and to the best of my abilities. Should you have any questions, please email me at nessalovesmakeup@gmail.com.

A Touch of Green

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Vanessa

Photobucket

Hello Loveliest Readers!

I am so very sorry for not posting in two weeks! It’s the end of my semester and I’ve been caught up in a project, studying, and homework. To top it all off, my laptop battery and charger have pooped out on me and I’m waiting for replacements to come in. I’m writing this up from a laptop my bf let me borrow (thanks babe!). My final is on the 23rd, so I will more than likely not be posting as much as I’d like, but I promise to get back to regular posts as soon as class is over! Thank you guys for your patience and reminders…ahem, Jeanette! LOL

I put together a look for work last Friday, and wanted a pop of green on my eyes to match with the army green sandals I was wearing. Here’s the final result:
Photobucket

Products Used:
-UDPP all over the lids and along lower lashes.
-MAC Courdoroy on lids, just to the crease.
-MAC Wedge blended into the crease.
-MAC Mylar blended along brows.
-MAC Sumptuous Olive along lower lashes.
-Revlon Colorstay liquid liner.
-Covergirl LashBlast mascara.

How have all of you been?

Talk to you soon!

<3V

I Love Nail Polish!

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Vanessa

Beautiful :).

Hello Beauties!
Lets start this week full of energy and with a positive attitude :). One of my favorite ways to change or improve my mood is by changing my nail polish color. It may seem silly, but seeing a pretty color when I look at my hands can seriously turn my day around and make me happy, especially if it’s bright. Here are some colors I’ve been wearing over the last two weeks:

Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvelous by OPI

Luxe Lavender from Avon

Cute as a Button by Essie

Purple Panic from China Glaze (LOOOOVE!)

What polish are you wearing right now?

<3V

Soft Brown Smokey Eyes

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Vanessa

Someday, I will have a shoe closet like this :).

Happy Saturday, Dolls!
I hope you’re all having an amazing weekend :). I was lucky enough to have Friday off, and have just about caught up on sleep and homework. Oh, how lovely it is to spend an entire day in pajamas! Here’s a soft smokey eye that I threw together last weekend:

Photobucket
~Products Used~
Face:
Timebalm concealer.
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural powder.
MAC Well Dressed blush.

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion, the original.
MAC Wedge all over the lid, just past the crease.
MAC Embark blended into the outer corners, crease, and along lower lashes.
MAC Mylar as a brow and inner corner highlight.
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner.
Covergirl Lashblast mascara.

Brows:
Shaded in lightly with MAC Espresso eyeshadow.

Lips:
MAC Ample Pink Plushglass.

What are you up to this weekend?

<3V

Happy Hair

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Vanessa

Hello Gorgeous Readers,
How are all of you today? Hopefully happy and enjoying warmer weather :). I picked up a new product at one of my many trips to Sally Beauty Supply and I’m so excited to tell you about it!

In the process of growing my hair long, I’ve had to battle split and dry ends constantly; my ends have dealt with quite a few dye jobs and bleach from highlights so they’re pretty beaten up. The sales associate at Sally’s asked me if I needed help with anything, and I said I needed a serum or spray to protect my hair during heat styling. She handed me a bottle of Proclaim Glossing Polish and told me I’d love it because it would protect my hair and help straighten it during blow drying. I got the six ounce bottle and headed home, excited to try it the next morning. Note that I have naturally wavy hair, so this may work differently for those of you with curls.
After showering, I let my hair air dry for about 15 minutes; then I applied a dime size drop of the serum to hair, focusing on the ends and applying the remnants to the at the top. The serum has a subtle marshmallow vanilla scent that isn’t overwhelming or too sweet. I dried my hair with a big round brush in large sections and couldn’t believe how soft, shiny, and manageable it was; my hair wasn’t frizzy or wavy, so I didn’t have to use a flat iron after blow drying like I always do. It’s been two weeks since I purchased the polish, and haven’t had to use my flat iron once.

I really love that this helps with straightening, but leaves my tresses with lots of movement and looks more natural than the stick straight results I get with a flat iron. I’d recommend this product to anyone that needs heat styling protection and wants to get away from using a flat iron. It comes in three sizes and can be purchased at Sally’s Beauty Supply and Amazon.

Click to purchase on Sally's site.

What’s your favorite hair serum?

<3V

Easy Pineapple Chicken

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Vanessa

Photobucket First thing’s first, get a drink ready for yourself and your cooking buddy. Mmm, margaritas!

Happy Monday, Beauties!
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and are ready to start a new week. This isn’t makeup related, but I wanted to share an easy and delicious recipe for pineapple chicken that the bff made at her place a few weeks ago. I promise, even inexperienced cooks can throw this together without too much stress :).

Photobucket

Ingredients:

Chicken, this was about 2 lbs. You can use whatever part of the chicken you like, we went with thin slicked breast fillets that were cut up into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces.
Pineapple (fresh or canned chunks); about a cup.
Onion, about 1/3 of one cut into 1 inch pieces.
1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper. Cut into one inch pieces.
1 head of garlic.
1 bottle of sweet and sour sauce; this is to taste as well.

Photobucket

Start off with pouring some oil into a pan and throwing the head of garlic in. My mom taught me to do this whenever cooking with oil…she said it helps the oil not burn. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I always do it lol.

Photobucket

Once the oil is warm, throw the chicken in and let it cook, covered. We didn’t use any seasoning, but you can if you like.

Photobucket

YUM! Look at the pretty veggie colors :).

Photobucket

Once the chicken turns white, throw the onion in and cook for a few minutes.

Photobucket

Next, the bell peppers go in. Cook until they start to soften slightly, you don’t want mushy peppers.

Photobucket

The pineapple goes in last, when the peppers are cooked, but still a little firm.

Photobucket

And finally, the sauce goes in. We used about 3/4 of the bottle. Now let it simmer and finish cooking everything for about 5 minutes. Once it’s done, serve with veggies or rice; ours was paired with plain brown rice.

Photobucket

For dessert, Shan served strawberries and the leftover pineapple with cream cheese frosting and wine. Paired with a Friends marathon, it was a perfect bff date :).

Let me know if you give this a try and how you like it.

<3V

Primer Primer (BFF Guest Post)

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Vanessa

Daydreaming of being on this beach with a good book and a good drink.

Happy Saturday, Dolls! Sorry for the slacking, I’ve been studying my butt off for a test I had and working on some projects. Here’s a guest post by my beautiful best friend, Shannon. Enjoy!

Primer Primer

Ok, so textbooks aren’t called ‘primers’ anymore (and this post is far from a textbook) but it made for a nice title. Don’t judge.

I’ve got two primers to review today: a save and a splurge.

SAVE: I ordered e.l.f.’s mineral primer about six weeks ago because Miss Vanessa turned me on to their super affordable products and I thought, “Why not? It’s $3.” When I first used it, the pump wasn’t very forgiving so the product shot all over my hand. And surprisingly, it was runny not creamy like other primers I’ve used.

Click the picture to purchase.

Once I got the primer off my hand and onto my face, it felt slick and oily, and took a while to rub in and absorb (probably because one full pump is entirely too much primer for one face). But when it was rubbed in, it left a powdery-feeling finish. Very clean, very even. After a few uses, the pump became a little worn-in and I could better control how much primer was actually dispensed. By using less, it didn’t feel as oily as the first use and I fell in love.

Fast forward three weeks and I run out of primer. With no warning. The pump just kind of spurted the remaining primer onto my fingers tips and that was it. Less than a month’s worth of use.

Overall, I like e.l.f.’s product. It gave an even base and didn’t cause any break outs. It really did give results that Smashbox’s photo finish primer gives, but my mini tube of Smashbox lasted much longer than three weeks.

I would recommend e.l.f.’s mineral primer – it’s inexpensive, it works, but you’ll be making quite a few trips to the store/internet.

SPLURGE: Fortunately, I wasn’t out of primer for long. Shortly after running out, I made a trip to Sephora to pick up MUFE Matte Velvet foundation (that Vanessa also recommended). My rewards card with them gave me the opportunity to pick a freebie and one option was Dr. Brandt’s Pore-No-More Anti-aging Mattefying Lotion. I grabbed it thinking, “Anti-aging? Might as well be pro-active…”

Click the picture to purchase.

It’s AWESOME. Just a little goes a long way – it’s more creamy than e.l.f.’s primer without being oily or heavy. I’ve really noticed that it reduced the appearance of my pores. AND it also reduces fine lines and wrinkles! It gives a great, clean-feeling finish and a great base for make-up. I LOVE it! However, it runs $60 a 1.7 oz. tube. …yikes.

I would recommend Dr. Brandt’s mattefying lotion – if you have money to burn. It’s lasted me longer than three weeks, but I haven’t used it everyday.

<3Shannon

Asencio Designs on Etsy

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Vanessa

Photobucket Love this pic of my bff and I, the lighting is awesome :D.

Happy Friday Dolls!
I just wanted to share a really cute Etsy store that’s run by a lovely lady named Francine (my friend’s cousin). She makes awesome jewelry (check out earrings I purchased last year here) and adorable hair clips and bows for your self or the little girls in your life. Keep in mind that most of the jewelry is one of a kind and everything sells pretty fast. Check out some of my favorite items on sale right now:

Leopard Cocktail Flower Veil Hat

Black Love Owls Hairbows

Pink Polka Dot Diva Skull Hair Bows

Turquoise Earrings

Yellow Rose Flower with leaf Earrings

Black and Gold Necklace

Happy shopping and have a great weekend :)!

<3V

Aussie’s Deeeeep Conditioner

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Vanessa

Photobucket
Happy Wednesday, Beautiful Readers!
I hope you’re all having a fab week so far :-). I wanted to share my absolute favorite deep conditioner pick today, because it’s seriously saved my hair this week. I’ve used Aussie’s 3 Minute Miracle for a few years now, but hadn’t remembered to get a bottle in about six months. I wash my hair just about every day, blow dry it every time I wash it, and flat iron it on a regular basis, so my strands handle some serious stress. In the past year and a half, I’ve been letting my hair grow and I stopped coloring it so my natural color can come though (it’s a dark brown with reddish undertones and some natural dark caramel highlights), so my trims have gone from every 6 weeks to every 12.
Given how much I put my hair through, it holds up pretty well and is mostly healthy and strong, but can get really dry on the ends when I don’t give it enough attention. While at Target (I swear, I might as well move into that place) the other day, I remembered to grab a bottle of 3 Minute Miracle. The scent is kind of coconutty, and the texture is thick without being greasy. After shampooing, I cover my hair from root to tip in the stuff and let it sit for about 5 minutes, and then I rinse it out. Because it isn’t excessively heavy, I use it once or twice a week to keep my hair soft, shiny, and really manageable. The bf and people that hug me always complement me on smelling like coconut lol, so that’s a definite plus.
At just under $3 for a tube that last about 10 uses (on my waist length hair!), you can’t go wrong with 3 Minute Miracle. What’s your favorite deep conditioner?

<3V

The Sycamore Inn

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Vanessa

Happy Sunday Beauties!
The bf took me on a lovely date yesterday to a historic restaurant called The Sycamore Inn located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, along Route 66. We spent 3 hours there enjoying the amazing food, drinks, and atmosphere. I highly recommend visiting this place if you’re nearby, it’s beautiful, and the inside reminds me of a place that Don Draper from Mad Men would have a cocktail in after work :-).

We started off with drinks and appetizers on their porch area:
A classic Cosmo and a Creamsickle.

Photobucket Calamari.

Photobucket The Sycamore Bellini made with vodka, peach schnapps, and champagne. This was my favorite drink of the night and will be my wedding drink someday lol.

Photobucket
House flat bread with creme fraiche, wood smoked bacon, gruyere, and caramelized onion. I can’t even properly express how delicious this was. I want to eat this all day, every day.

Photobucket The bf and I :-).

Then we moved into the lounge/bar area for dinner. I forgot to take a picture, but it’s dimly lit, with dark furniture, and they have Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and big band music playing. It feels really cozy and romantic.
Photobucket
Green tea martini. Sooo good, but sooo strong lol.

Photobucket We thought the lounge looked so Mad Men-esque, that the bf ordered an Old Fashioned. If you haven’t had one before, let me tell you, it will put hair on your chest lol.

Photobucket
Danny had the prime rib french dip.

Photobucket I had the steak burger. OMG, best burger of my life! Do you see the tiny ketchup bottle? Hilariously cute.

This was one of the best dinner dates I’ve ever had, and wouldn’t change anything about it. Thank you for taking me, BF! Xoxo!

If you would like to visit, here’s the direct link to their site: http://www.thesycamoreinn.com/

Here are some pics of the eye makeup I wore out :-):

Products used: Original UDPP, Urban Decay Strip e/s all over lid and along lower lashes, MAC Black Tied e/s along outer corners, MAC Mylar e/s as a highlight, Ulta mineral e/s in snow as an inner corner highlight, Revlon Colorstay liquid liner, Revlon Colorstay pencil liner, and Covergirl LashBlast Mascara.

I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend!

<3V

A Sad Goodbye, Some NOTDs, and New Goodies

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Vanessa

A buttery nipple shot from Rock the Keys. Thank goodness my friend ordered this, I don’t know that I could have without giggling lol. If you’re wondering, my nail polish is Turned Up Turquoise from China Glaze.

Hi Dolls,
I’m feeling kinda random today, so here’s a post about everything!

A sad goodbye to my very first MAC lipstick, Viva Glam V. I went to use it and found it like this:
No one is admitting to the heinous crime, so I’m left with a smashed lipstick. There was at least half of the tube left before. This means I have to buy a new one, right?

Picked up two new Finger Paints polishes at Sally’s the other night for $5 each.
Hue Left a Message? IT’S SO SPARKLY!!

Wine at the Gallery. I got this because it reminded me of my mom; burgundy is her favorite color :-).

Another shot? OKAY!

New Goodies :-D:
Striped, ruched sleeve, very flattering, super soft tee from Kirra at Pacsun. Picked it up for $10 in this color and black. I’ve only seen them at the one in the Ontario Mills Mall, they have a bunch of other colors too! Can’t wait to wear this with dark wash jeans and red or pink heels :-D.