Google Friend Connect No Longer Working - FIXED

Hi lovelies, I just wanted to drop a quick note on something that I've noticed. It seems that for the past week or so, following my blog via GFC is for some reason no longer working. This is most likely related to the recent Google/Blogger changes (Google reader is being shut down). I have had two readers contact me saying that they have followed/subscribed to Dollface Beauty using GFC and yet, the number of followers has not moved. This is why I strongly suggest that anyone wishing to follow my blog, please do so via the blogger reading list, email or Bloglovin until the issue is fixed.

Much love xo

UPDATE: This issue is now fixed and my GFC is working again

Versatile Blogger Award!!

Hey lovelies! I cannot believe that I have been nominated for two awards in the same week; it means the world to me, you all are amazing! The lovely and gorgeous Athena over at Modestly Sophisticated nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award and I can't thank her enough! You can check out her VBA post here

Rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you for this award and link back to their blog
• Tell 7 things about yourself
• Select 15 blogs that you recently discovered or follow regularly to nominate. Let those blogs know that you nominated them.

Seven facts about me:

1. My favorite food is sushi. I LOVE IT. If you have never tried a godzilla roll, you're missing out!

2. I love the city of Venice and I really hope to live there someday

3. One of my favorite movies is The Italian Job (2003). This is how I came to love Venice and Mini Coopers!

4. In case you have never read my F.A.Q, I am 6'1

5. I love horror, especially zombies!

6. I have a weakness for banana cheesecake. It is delicious kryptonite

7. I love to read and I try to have a novel in my bag at all times

I nominate:

Sara // DancingWithDragQueens

Maddy // Missing All The Cracks In The Pavement

Kristina // Kristina's Beauty Bag

Christina // The Daily Sugar

Steph // Fun Size Beauty

Diana // FashionCandyFloss

Emily // WhatSheHearts

Pocket Rocket Fashion

Georgia // Georgia's Unique

Lexy // MissGlammyGirl

Sarah // StarlingBright

Robin // DiaryOfAClassyBroad

Anastasia // Glamorable

TheGlitterThread

Stiletto Siren

Thank you again Athena! To those nominated, congrats! I look forward to reading your answers. 

Photo is from Google Images

Much love xo

Organix Argan Oil & Shea Butter Conditioner - Review

Woah. Can you believe it? Spring is in the air! Or is it love? Yes let's go with that, love is in the air! I've fallen just a little bit in love with this new conditioner. As you lovelies know, I struggle with excruciatingly dry hair so I am always on the lookout for new and awesome products to give my hair the love and moisture that it needs, there is nothing wrong with trying new things right?

If you've been following my blog for awhile then you've probably seen me refer to the Organix brand on more than one occasion. Why? Well, for starters their Extra Strength Argan Oil has been an absolute lifesaver for my hair. I use it every single day and I can honestly say that currently, it is the only hair care product to vastly improve the health of my hair. In addition to that, their entire line is paraben, sulfate, cruelty and gluten free; if you don't know what the hype surrounding parabens and sulfates is, check out my post here. Since my Nexxus conditioner was down to the last use, I was on the hunt for a new (and hopefully cheaper) conditioner to try; I browsed the Ulta website, saw this and didn't hesitate to order it. I figured, how could I go wrong with argan oil and shea butter? As it turns out, I was right!

I try not to let the scent of a product influence me too much but, my goodness do I like the scent of this conditioner! It's light, creamy and oddly smells of coconut which boggles my mind since coconut is absolutely nowhere on the list of ingredients. The consistency resembles a light custard or pastry cream (does anyone else want cheesecake now? Just me?) As far as performance, it was not without a bit of trial and error that I got this conditioner to work for my hair. My usual routine of leaving my conditioner in for a quick ten minutes while I showered or washed my face just didn't cut it; with this method I achieved softness but the effect did not last long and wore away within a day or so. Now for take two! In order for this conditioner to really work it's magic, I let it soak into my hair under a shower cap for an hour, I also utilized the occasional burst of heat from my hair dryer during this time. The result? I'm honestly blown away by how soft this conditioner makes my hair and now, my hair has stayed soft and moisturized since I started using the shower cap. My favorite thing? Not only is my hair naturally dry but, it is incredibly frizzy; especially the ends and taming that frizz is usually an epic battle that I loose quite often. However, this really does get rid of a considerable amount of frizz and tangles in my hair making it A LOT more manageable. Would I re-purchase this? Yes.

Overall, I really like this conditioner and I am thrilled with how it makes my hair feel (when using the right method of course) Unfortunately, I do have a few gripes with this product. For one, it does not add any sort of shine to my hair even though the bottle claims that it will. I can overlook this because I use oil in my hair everyday and that gives me shine but, in case you are looking for a glossy conditioner to add lots of shine, this is not the one. Secondly, this is not a "quick use" conditioner, I only see great results when I leave the conditioner in for a lot longer than usual. Even though I love how this works with my hair, it becomes very inconvenient at times and I find myself reaching for other hair care when I am in a hurry.

Ingredients: Aqua (water), Cetearyl alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel oil, Ceteareth-20, Lanolin oil, Dimethiconol, Parfum (fragrance), Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, CI 19140 (Yellow 5), CI 16035 (Red 40).

Be advised, this conditioner does contain silicones and what sppears to be a sulfate. However, I did a bit of research on Behentrimonium Methosulfate and it is NOT actually a sulfate! It is created from rapseed oil, and it's purpose is for detangling and thickening.

The new Argan oil & Shea butter line contains a shampoo, conditioner, weightless oil, curl enhancing yogurt, and a moisture restore mask. You can check out all of the products here. Every product in this line retails for $7.99.

Much love xo

Liebster Award!

Hey lovelies! I'm excited to announce that I've been nominated for the Liebster Award TWICE! By the gorgeous ladies Maddy and Sara! You can check out Maddy's blog here and Sara's here. If you're not sure what a Liebster Award is, here's a little info: "The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It's a great way for new and undiscovered bloggers to meet new people, get more followers and find new blogs that they want to follow"

Now onto the rules! :

• List 11 facts about yourself
• Choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate (not including your nominator)
• Ask 11 new questions for the bloggers that you nominate
• Answer the 11 questions given to you by your nominator
• Thank your nominator and give a link to their blog

11 Facts About Myself:

1. I love, love, love pinups, the 50's and anything vintage 

2. My shoe of choice are converse

3. My favorite film is Ever After

4. My favorite color is grey

5. I LOVE Frankenstein and Bride. I try to collect any merch of them that I can get my hands on

6. I listen to scores more than any other type of music

7. I love animals. Especially, cats, owls, bats and penguins

8. I am actually allergic to cats and yet, I own five. I would never ever trade them or any others for the world

9. I attend comic con every year

10. I currently have three tattoos and I plan on finishing my half sleeves in the near future

11. My blog name is based on one of my tattoos

Maddy's Questions:

1) Who is your fashion/makeup icon and why? This is a very difficult question for me, simply because I've been inspired by so much and so many people both famous and non-famous. I've always loved retro/pinup style fashion so I absolutely adore Marilyn Monroe and Bettie Page. If I had to choose for the present, it's just impossible to narrow down so my favorites are Tess Munster, Teer Wayde, Marfmellow, Vintage or Tacky, GoldieStarling and so many more. To me, these women are just absolutely stunning and I'm awed by their makeup, fashion, and confidence. 

2) What is your favorite thing about yourself? I like that I'm a very carefree and confident person, it allows me to walk through a lot of situations with my head held high. Also, my eyebrows! For some odd reason they stay the same shape and I never have to shape them or bother them. 

3) What would you do if you came to a large sum of money? Well, first and foremost I would pay off all of my hospital and schooling bills and after that, I would absolutely donate to a few charities, depending on how much I had left my next goal would be to purchase my own home

4) What would your three wishes to a genie be? 1. Health for myself, friends, family & pets. 2. A lifetime supply of cheesecake in a variety of flavors. 3. More wishes. 

5) Best new dish you've recently tried. Baked lasagna from scratch!! I LOVE to cook and recently I've started making all of my meals completely scratch from start to finish. Amazing!

6) One fashion/beauty item you can't live without. Red lipstick! I adore red lipstick and my look honestly doesn't feel complete without it.

7) One fashion/beauty item you regret buying. Oh boy, well thankfully I have not purchased many duds on my makeup and fashion journey. If I had to pick however, I would say lime green converse. Now that I think back, I didn't give them the wear and love that they deserved. 

8) A goal you wish to accomplish by the end of 2013. Graduating, getting healthier and moving out. Wait..that's three. Oh well!

9) Best advice you ever received. Be yourself. No matter how outrageous, loud, or quirky. The best thing you can be is yourself because you are amazing, you are YOU and people will love you and you will love yourself.

10) What is something you could improve on? I try to learn and evolve as much as possible. With that said, I know that I could improve upon the content that I post on my blog to include a lot more fashion and not just reviews.

11) What came first, the chicken or the egg? Some primitive form of bird; something had to lay the egg right??

Sara's Questions:

1. When and why did you start blogging? I started blogging on January 30th, 2012. I started because I love makeup, I love writing and I felt that I had something to offer even if it only helped a few people.

2. What's one thing you've learned about yourself because of blogging? I've learned that I'm not the bad writer that I sometimes view myself as and that my blog posts do actually help a few people and that's all that matters.

3. What is one thing that has surprised you about blogging? (Ex. I didn't expect people to be so nice) It's not as easy as some might think. A lot of thought and effort goes into purchasing, reviewing, styling and keeping up with everything. I love it and I absolutely wouldn't change it but, some seem to think that it's just merely sitting behind a keyboard.

4. If you could only wear one makeup up look the rest of your life, which would it be...eye makeup with bare lips or lipstick with no eye makeup? Lipstick with no eye makeup, I need my red lips!

5. Who is your biggest beauty inspiration? This is a very difficult question for me, simply because I've been inspired by so much and so many people both famous and non-famous. I've always loved retro/pinup style fashion so I absolutely adore Marilyn Monroe and Bettie Page. If I had to choose for the present, it's just impossible to narrow down so my favorites are Tess Munster, Teer Wayde, Marfmellow, Vintage or Tacky, GoldieStarling and so many more. To me, these women are just absolutely stunning and I'm awed by their makeup, fashion, and confidence.

6. What is your biggest pet peeve about bloggers that you've noticed? People who do not show appreciation for their fans/followers/readers, etc. This applies to far more people than just bloggers! You would not be in the place that you are if not for your amazing and dedicated followers. It saddens me to see individuals who brush off those who stand behind them as though they've gotten where they are simply by a gust of wind. 

7. What age did you start wearing makeup and what was the first makeup item you owned? I was 14/15 and I wore heavy eyeliner. My first and favorite was Estee Lauder's Automatic Eyeliner. Ahh the memories!

8. What is the best advice you've ever received? Be yourself! No matter how outrageous, loud, or quirky. The best thing you can be is yourself because you are amazing, you are YOU and people will love you and you will love yourself.

9. What's one beauty rule you always follow? I guess maybe prepping my nails before polish?

10. If you could be somebody else for one day, who would it be and why? Chris Hemsworth, I mean...who doesn't want to be Thor?

11. What are you most proud of with your blog? How much Dollface Beauty has grown! I started doing this with absolutely no clue and here I am over a year later going strong with 17 followers and over 5,000 page views. Thank you!!

Questions for my nominees:

1. Who or what has been your biggest inspiration in life so far?
2. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
3. What is your one ultimate holy grail product?
4. When you first started using makeup, what was your biggest "makeup crime"?
5. If you could be whisked away to one place, where would it be?
6. What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
7. What is one fashion item that you can't bear to throw away no matter how old it gets?
8. If you listen to music while putting on your makeup, what song really pumps you up for the day?
9. Is there a makeup/fashion trend past or present that you love but, haven't tried yourself?
10. What do you hope to achieve with your blog?
11. If any, what message or advice does your blog portray?

I Nominate: 

Kristina // Kristina's Beauty Bag

Mary // Glitter Odyssey

Miss Dalisay // Beauty Rehab

Michaela // I Sold The World

Dee // Xxelle Fatshion

WeLoveSwatches

Jen // JenTea

Alisa // Curious Alisa

Athena // Modestly Sophisticated

V // Beauty Out Loud

Gabs G // Beauty Madness

Photo is from Google Images

Much love and many thanks! xo

Tarte Clean Slate 12HR Deluxe Primers - Review

Hi lovelies! Can you believe that these are my first products from Tarte, EVER?! I'm just as shocked as you all are. Since primer is without a doubt one of my top five makeup essentials, this seemed like the perfect little thing to try out and dip my toes into the Tarte brand. This little trio contains samples of Tarte's 12hr poreless, flawless and creaseless face and eye primers. I can't say that I'm in love with any of these but for $9 (0.25 and 0.09 oz), I'm still happy that I got to try them all.

My biggest gripe with this trio is that, there is not much product in any of the tubes. I know, I know, for $9 how much product did I expect? I understand that completely but, it was a let down for all three tubes to be filled with 80% air and having to flatten the tubes just to sample any product. Perhaps these were just duds?

Let's start with Clean Slate PORELESS, this is the perfecting primer; it is comparable to Smashbox Photo Finish, NYX Shine Killer or any other silicone based, gel like primer. This did a pretty decent job of smoothing out my pores for a short while but, I just can't get over how thick and sticky this product is. It is very hard to blend out, leaves my skin feeling tacky and no matter what method of blending or how little primer I used, it continuously pilled each and every time. I have never had an issue with any of my makeup pilling or balling up until now. As far as wear, once (finally) blended in, it seemed to disappear as if I hadn't actually applied anything. I could still feel the primer on my skin but, any pore minimizing properties that it had left the building within ten minutes; it in no way kept my pores smaller nor did my makeup wear longer than usual. I recommend NYX Shine Killer instead of this.

Next is the Clean Slate FLAWLESS, this is the brightening primer. When I first started using this, it seemed to do absolutely nothing; the subtle pink tint would just blend into my skin and disappear. Since I hate to let products go to waste, I started adding a few drops of this to my homemade BB cream and that is when I actually noticed some results. It perks my skin up a bit and gives the tiniest barely there glow. As far as perfecting or allowing my makeup to last longer, this primer provided none of that for my skin. I am on the fence because the primer is not necessarily bad since it does provide the brightening aspect that it claims to have but, the effect is so subtle it is easily not that memorable. Since it doesn't do much else as far as being an actual primer, I would not re-purchase this; I recommend NYX Pore Filler instead.

Lastly, is the Clean Slate 360 CREASELESS, this is the eye primer and my least favorite of the trio.  I found this primer is be very oily/greasy no matter how much I shook the tube before hand. Since the main goal of primer is to stop or decrease oil production during wear, the oiliness of this product just doesn't work. I also hate the texture of this product once applied, since this primer is so oily, it left an uncomfortable film on my eyelids. As far as wear time, my eyeshadows did not last very well with this as there was significant fading and creasing throughout the day. This would be better suited for someone with dry eyelids. I recommend theBalm's Put A Lid On It or Too Faced Shadow Insurance over this.

Overall, would I purchase any of these primers again? Absolutely not. None of them worked that well with my skin and I feel that I have much better alternatives in my collection as listed above. The best thing of all about those alternatives? Each one is cheaper than its Tarte counterpart so, I recommend trying those instead but, if you are a Tarte lover or just you just want to try the brand, the trio is worthwhile picking up since it is only $9 and allows you to try three products.

I could not find this trio pack on Ulta.com but it might still be in stores. Online they have another trio called Prime, Shine & Define here

You can purchase the full size Poreless here
$30 // 1 oz

You can purchase the full size Flawless here
$30 // 1 oz

You can purchase the full size 360 Creaseless here
$19 // 11g (0.39oz)

Much love xo