Quick Update: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday I talked about the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm being a much hyped product in the beauty world, so today I am going to give a quick update/review on another cult favorite: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer.  Unlike my love and excitement for the cleansing balm, this product has failed me.  I mentioned in my NARS and in Charge post that I repurchased the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (AKA my second favorite concealer) and that I wanted to try it in conjunction with the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation.  After doing this for about two weeks, I realized I was having some irritation to current breakouts and an increase in new breakouts.  This had happened when I used the concealer before, but I couldn't pin point it at the time, so I continued using it until it was empty.  I am glad I realized it was this product, so I immediately stopped using, returned it to Sephora, and repurchased my trusted Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer.  This all being said, the concealer itself is not a bad concealer: it is creamy, covers well, does not crease, and is a great color match.....BUT none of this makes up for the fact that is irritates my already broken out face.  I decided to do some research on this product and compare it to the Make Up For Ever concealer and see if there was some huge difference in ingredients or if maybe the doe foot applicator on the NARS was just too unhygienic and caused the irritation.

My Findings:

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

• On both the NARS and Sephora website I was not able to find a complete breakdown of all of the ingredients in the product.....RED FLAG!
• All Sephora lists is "What it is formulated WITHOUT: Parabens, Sulfates, Phthalates"
• All NARS list is "Paraben-free, Alcohol free, Synthetic fragrance free, Non comedogenic"

Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer

• Sephora has a listing of ingredients, while the Make Up For Ever website lists no ingredients.
• Sephora lists the following ingredients and what they do:
• Aqueous Emulsion of Volatile Oils with Optimized Pigment Cover: Aid in "fixing" the product to the skin with a matte finish.
• Plastic Polymers: Creates a thin, water-resistant layer that resists humidity.
• Allantoin: An active ingredient with healing and regenerative properties.
• Microcrystalline
• Serma Sensitive: An anti-inflammatory agent.

After doing my bit of research, I cannot say for sure it is a certain something in the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer that causes breakouts since both brands did not do the best job of listing their product's ingredients.  My conclusion is that a combination of the applicator being an unsanitary way of applying concealer and *maybe* a mystery ingredient are the reason this has not been the product for my skin.

I hope this post helps anyone considering purchasing the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer.  As I mentioned before, it is not a bad concealer, but if you have sensitive skin you may want to consider some other alternatives.  The Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer is a great option for covering the worst of blemishes, but it is quite expensive at $32.00.  If you do not have the budget for this, I would recommend the Physicians Formula Physicians Strength Concealer which is $9.99 and a great dupe!

Let me know if you found this post helpful, as I would love to do more updates on products that do not make the grade or are awful for broken out/breakout prone skin.

 

- Courtney

Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm

Hello Everyone!

Let's talk about a product that has been incredibly hyped up in the beauty blogger world: Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm.  Talk about the world's longest name for a product, but is it really worth investing in.....?  YES!  This is one product that actually lives up to its reputation and I am so glad I finally gave it a go.

If you are not familiar with cleansing balms, they are an emollient based balm that you massage into your face and it melts all of the makeup away.  Simple science right?  We do not have to get into all of that, but I do want to let you know that this is a great makeup remover for us girls with incredibly sensitive skin.  I have been using it for a few months now, and although it has not made my skin miraculously better, it causes no irritation and removes my makeup like a dream!  It does have a slight lemony zest smell, but I enjoy it and feel a bit invigorated after I've wiped it all away.

This is not available for sale in the US, but you can purchase it on Feel Unique.  I opted for this 4 piece starter kit because I didn't want to commit to the full size balm if it was terrible.  I would recommend this kit for anyone wanting to try the balm as it is much cheaper than the full size.  The kit not only provides you with an amazing washcloth, but you also get a small moisturizer.  It is a great way to try more than one product by Emma Hardie.

A wonderful Christmas gift for a skincare lover ;)

The starter kit (minus the bag)

Just some evidence that this stuff is the bomb!

Have any of you used the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm before?  Let me know any other amazing makeup removers you use?

- Courtney

Courtney Cooks: Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

Hello Everyone!

Another new blog segment coming at you from my kitchen!  I have been much more into cooking in my adult years, so I thought I would share my recipes and ideas with you all. On my continuous journey to live a healthier lifestyle, I have found one kitchen tool that has helped tremendously.  Behold the SPIRALIZER!  You may be just as confused as everyone else I have told about this, but fear not as I will explain.  A spiralizer is a way to cut vegetables (or really anything) into noodle like shapes, as a healthier alternative to traditional pasta.  I bought mine on Amazon for $20.00 after a recommendation from a coworker.  If you are trying to eat low carb, or just looking to be a bit healthier, this is definitely a great investment.  Spiralizer aside, lets move on to the tasty recipe explained below for you to enjoy! :)



Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1 tbsp butter
1tbsp flour
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Step 1:
Spiralize your peeled sweet potato using the B blade.  For more macaroni looking noodles, cut the sweet potato in half before spiralizing.

Step 1 Completed

Step 2:
Saute your spiralized sweet potato in some olive oil for 7-10 minutes (or level of desired tenderness)

Step 3:
Once your "noodles" are cooked, cover with a lid and add 1 tbsp butter to a saucepan and let melt.

Step 4:
Once the butter is melted, add in 1 tbsp flour and 1/3 cup of milk.  Stir until the consistency thickens.

Step 5:
Add 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, and sauteed sweet potato to the saucepan.  Stir until cheese has fully melted.

The finished product, YUM!

This has become one of my favorite recipes to make lately, as it is quick, easy, filling, and most importantly delicious!  Have you tried any unique sweet potato recipes?  If so, share below as I would love some recipe suggestions!

- Courtney

Good Eats: De Pasada

Hello Everyone!

I am normally not a "foodie" and do not really go around sharing pictures of what I eat, but when I find a good place to chow down, it is worth a mention!  A restaurant I have been loving the past few months is De Pasada.  It is a Mexican restaurant located in the Medical District right by UIC.  Tons of great food over in that area, but this is seriously the tastiest!  I am normally not the biggest burrito lover, but Jon had been raving about this place for a long time, so I finally gave it a go, and boy was I impressed!  I order their Super Burrito with: barbacoa/shredded beef, rice, beans, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole.  This is the only burrito I can finish in one sitting, so that definitely says a lot for it.

The man who introduced me to this delicious place!

Super Barbacao Burrito!

What a beauty

All done!

If you happen to be in Chicago and find yourself in the Medical District, I suggest you give De Pasada a go!  The staff is extremely friendly and as I have mentioned the food is muy delicioso!

Check out their menu and locations here: De Pasada Tacos

- Courtney

Throwback Thursday: Colorado Trip 2013!

Hello Everyone!

I thought I might start a little feature on my blog called Throwback Thursday, to document trips and events that I have experienced and never properly shared photographs of.  This will not be an every Thursday thing, but I will be doing it for a bit to show you all of the lost memories of some really great times I've had.

The first installment is me and Jon's trip to Breckenridge, CO!  This trip was something I planned for Jon as a part of our 1 year anniversary, Christmas, and him graduating college.  He was the person to introduce me to snowboarding (not sure if I ever mentioned I like to do!), so it was the next step to FINALLY take a trip to the real mountains out West and give em a go.  This trip is so special to me, as it was our first BIG trip away and we got to do something we both love a ton.  Aside from the breathtaking views during our snowboarding sessions, we were in Breckenridge at a pretty awesome time.... ULLR FEST!  This is a week long celebration of the God of snow, Ullr.  They hold a huge parade with a bunch of crazy locals scantily clad frolicking about: drinking, laughing, and even hot tubbing.  It was absolutely hilarious to watch, and Jon even joined the parade to do an ice luge shot!  Kudos to him for being brave and adventurous as I watched from the sidelines.  They also had a fireworks show one of the evenings, which was incredible as we got to watch it from one of our resorts outdoor hot tubs.  Definitely the best firework display I have seen and experienced.  Another really fun event we participated in was a comedy show, which just so happened to be held at our resort, so we quite enjoyed ourselves at that.

All in all, this was such a wonderful trip and I could not have asked to spend it with a more amazing person.  I successfully snowboarded down a MOUNTAIN (there is video footage in case you don't believe me), experienced Ullr Fest, and survived -26 degree temperatures the entire time!  I am looking forward to our next trip to Colorado, which we hope to do sometime early next year, so stay tuned and enjoy all of our photos from the trip!

6:00 AM flight to Colorado!

Since the mountains do not have lights, we did a ton of drinking on our first day :P

View of the ski lift from our room

More drinking at a winery in town

Delicious vino

First day snowboarding - I let Jon go down once without me and enjoyed a cup of coffee and a great view (not displayed that nicely in this picture)

First trip up the lift

:)

View of the mountains.  The lifts take almost a half hour to get you to the top....which sometimes isn't the actual top...you have to get on another lift to go even higher.

We tried our resorts oxygen bar and looked incredibly sexy as you can see!

Case and point

Probably our best photo to date

Float in the parade

Talk about scary!

Not the best quality photo of us, but I still like it :)

Back on the mountains for another day of freezing fun!

Beautiful

On top of the world!

Night out on the town for shopping and fun!

Amazing creperie, definitely recommend this if you are in town!

So cold out his Coke froze immediately! :(

Trying to get just a little bit to drink... didn't happen

Pizza crepe!

Nutella and banana crepe....HEAVENLY! :)

We stayed at Beaver Run Resort in the Colorado Suite.  It had a bedroom area with a queen bed, a private room with a jacuzzi tub (AMAZING!), a bathroom, kitchenette, living room, balcony, and a wood burning fireplace!  They also had an indoor swimming pool and tons of outdoor hot tubs.  It was ski in/ski out, so that was a great plus because we didn't have to travel.  Great stay, I would definitely recommend!

That is all folks!  I hope you enjoyed these pictures from our trip to Breckenridge.  I would definitely recommend this city to visit if you are in Colorado.  Tons of fun things to do even if you are not snowboarding or skiing.  Great downtown with cute shops and great nightlife.  I cannot wait to go back when it isn't SO cold and do a bit more.  We plan to go back to Breckenridge and hopefully hit up Snowmass and Vale.

Have you ever been to Breckenridge?  Did you enjoy it?  Have you been to any other mountains in Colorado or areas that you would recommend?  Let me know in the comments below!


- Courtney

The Maze Runner Series: Book and Movie Review

Hello Everyone!
 
I recently just finished The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner, and really enjoyed all three books.  As I mentioned in my last book review on Never Let Me Go, I quite enjoy dystopian novels and series, but this series is more post-apocalyptic which is definitely something I am into as well.  Below, I will review the series as a whole in hopes to not give anything away, then also a review of the first movie on the first book.



Series Review - 8.5/10
Without giving too much away, all three books take you on Thomas's experience through a post-apocalyptic world.  In the first book, The Maze Runner, he is sent up to a maze with no memories except his own name.  The maze in inhabited with teenage boys who call themselves the Gladers.  A new boy has arrived once a month, so Thomas comes just as expected.  During his first day he learns the ins and outs of the maze; everyone has a job and things seem to be working well....except for finding a way out of the maze.  Things turn upside down when a girl shows up in the maze the following day.  In the second book, The Scorch Trials, the Gladers are put through another test, this time being a journey through the scorch.  They have found out that the world has been torn apart by Sun flares and a terrible disease called The Flare.  They are part of an experiment put on by a world government organization called "WICKED".  Since completing the task of the maze, they must make it through the scorch to earn a cure for The Flare.  Tons of action in this book, very fun read!  The third book, The Death Cure, finds both trial groups back together at WICKED, but is WICKED really good?  The groups fight and search to find the true answers.  Have they succeeded in finding the cure or is the world doomed?



Movie Review - 6/10
I saw this movie with Jon and we both had different opinions of it.  I obviously had read the book and he had not.  To start, I think most of the characters were well cast, specifically the roles of: Chuck, Newt, and Alby.  The setting of the maze was very well done and looked very much how to book depicted it.  Also, on the of main things I wanted a visual of was the Grievers, and they were so much scary once brought to life in the film, so I think this was my favorite part of the movie opposed to the book.  Some thing I did not enjoy were some major plot changes...I understand this helps those who have not read understand the movie, but it really upset me.  Outside of these changes that made me cringe during the whole movie, they kept the general theme of the book, which made it a good movie.  Jon seemed to enjoy it more than me, so it was a good movie, just did not follow the book that well.  I hope if they make the other two books into movies, they are more on track with the books.

Have you read any of the Maze Runner Series? If so, did you enjoy the books? What were some of your favorite parts? Did you watch the movie? How did you think it compared to the book?

- Courtney

Black Wednesday Ensemble and Face

Hello Everyone!

As promised here is my face of the evening (taken the following day on Thanksgiving because I forgot to take a face close up) wearing all of the NARS products from Tuesday's post and more!  I also included some photos of my outfit and jewelry!  I went out in the evening with my girlfriends, so I have included some photos as well!

The Ensemble
Forever 21 Floral Dress
Burgundy Clutch
Crown Vintage Sandy Bootie

NARS products, plus more!

The Jewels
Kate Spade Gold Bracelet
Fossil Gold Watch
Gold Stud Earrings
Gold Claddagh Ring
Gold Midi Ring
Gold Leaf Ring

The finished face

Close up

:)

ALL the ladies!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday :)

- Courtney