Barbie: Harley Davidson

Hot.  Biker.  Mama.  Those are the three words I would freely use to describe this free-spirited beauty.  Clad in black leather from top to toe, she's all dressed up with nowhere in particular to go... but every intention on getting there.  She's up for some adventure.  And why not?  The weather has finally broken and she's got some time off from her busy schedule, so a well-deserved road trip seems in order.  And Barbie knows just the road hog to recruit for her impromptu sojourn - her fired up, chromed out Harley Davidson!  It's a super mean machine; the perfect two-wheeled specimen to take tooling around back roads and beyond...  She's ready to discover the "undiscovered" and is equipped with all the right accoutrements to do it with style.

 

Layered in the finest of biker babe essentials, Barbie sports a black crew-neck top underneath her thick cut, black leather jacket.  Both jacket and top are emblazoned with the Harley Davidson name/logo as well as orange-yellow flames, with the zip-up jacket bearing its flames down the length of the sleeves.

 

Working aesthetically in cahoots with her jacket is a boss pair of matching leather pants with a set of orange-yellow flames running up the outer seams.  Vivid in color and design, they will definitely be an eye-catcher as Barbie flexes her riding muscles and burns up and down the highway. 

And just in case you still weren't sure where her loyalties lie when it comes to motorcycles, she added on a few more Harley Davidson accessories, like the thick, chain-linked belt wrapped around her svelte waist...

... and black, three-pocket leather backpack, complete with snap closure. 

Keeping the flame motif going, Barbie opts for a black helmet with fiery, bright decals to help keep her safe on the road. 

And, forever maintaining her code of chic, this fashionable chopper chick rounds out her riding ensemble with a designer pair of ink-black motorcycle boots.

Windswept tresses may sound romantic, but add to that a case of "helmet hair" and you have a recipe for a tangled, unsightly disaster!  Well, Barbie will have none of that as she smartly dresses her locks in long cornrows styled in a half 'n' half.  In her ears are a simple pair of small, silver hoops and perched on her head is a pair of road-worthy sunglasses.  Road tested, road approved! 

With all that's going on with her outfit and such, Barbie decided to keep her makeup to the bare minimum.  A soft, neutral eye and a rich, burnt-red lip was all she was looking for.  And really, that's all she needed to bring a little color to her face.

So there you have it!  Barbie is getting her motor running and heading out on the highway.  She's looking for adventure and whatever else happens to come her way.  Loaded in leather, she appears to be the quintessential "biker babe", but she's way more than that.  She's a bad-to-the-bone bombshell who knows her way around an open road and has the fully customized, miles laden Harley to prove it.  She's ready to put her pedal to the metal and see some sunrises and sunsets...   A HOT BIKER MAMA who undoubtedly knows how to ride out with style!

Optimus Primer

Hey, guys!  As you all know, I've been on my spring cleaning kick pretty hard these past few weeks, taking inventory of things and getting rid of stuff that's damaged, outdated and the like.  Well, while rifling through and culling the herd of mascaras I had stashed away in a drawer I came across one that I had never ever opened, let alone tried out.  It's a double-barreled wonder from LORAC that includes an eyelash primer designed to work in cahoots with the mascara for a more dramatic final effect.  I've never used a primer on my eyelashes before, so my curiosity was indeed piqued.  How does it all work?  Would it really make a difference?  Well, I was more than motivated to find out and decided to put LORAC's Special Effects mascara to the test.

   

An eyelash primer is supposed to help enhance the efficacy and overall appearance of a mascara, depending on its claim.  In this case, Special Effects' primer is formulated to condition the lashes in prep of a proper coating, thus allowing the pigments to adhere better while encouraging the defining and lengthening aspects of the mascara.  Dispersing the product via its white, rubber-bristled wand, I applied the milk-hued primer, appropriately named Grey Pearl, to my lashes.

Accessing the well at the opposite end, I then applied a dose of the mascara, making sure to deftly work the product from root to tip and everywhere in between via its rubber-bristled wand.  A rich, charcoal black with a nice finish to it, the mascara is aptly named Black Pearl. 

After applying the two, I must say that my lashes looked mighty dope!  Both the definition and the length were considerable, and this was after only one coat!  The mascara went on top of the primer without any type of flaking or disturbance.  In fact, it applied just as smoothly as if my lashes were bare.  Also, there was no crunchiness; my eyelashes felt soft and pliable to the touch.  The formula is really nice.  Color me impressed, y'all! 

So there you have it - my first foray into the realm of eyelash primers... and I think they're pretty cool.  Now, do I think they're absolutely necessary in order to achieve a fully dressed and dramatic eye?  For me, no.  If you don't mind applying more than one coat to your lashes and putting in a little work (and with the right formula of mascara) then you can definitely cook up the same results, especially if you already have a nice set of lashes.  But if your peeper sweepers don't have all that great a presence to begin with and/or you would like to achieve maximum results with minimum effort (one coat, no more than two) then an eyelash primer may be the boost you're looking for.  I don't believe Special Effects is still in LORAC's product lineup; however, plenty of companies make eyelash primers, including Clinique and Tarte.  So, by all means, check one out if you're curious.  And, hey, who knows?  It just may be the needed ingredient to help put some meat on your lash's bones!
 

Polish Perfect

And so I tried another skin care item recently.  And I like it.  A lot.  It's a face scrub from cosmetics and beauty guru Laura Mercier that I just happened to get a sample of.  Now, I'm perfectly content with my current exfoliant, the original St. Ives Apricot scrub; it has served me well over the years and I've never had a problem with it.  Besides that, it's readily available at drugstores... so there's that.  But why not try something new?  And so I did.  I tried out the Flawless Skin Face Polish.  And if you have a few ticks of the clock to spare, I'd love to share my thoughts on it with you. 

Flawless Skin Face Polish is a peach-colored cream scrub dually designed to both exfoliate as well as cleanse to help promote smooth, even toned skin.  Upon first sight, the scrub appears to be mild and somewhat innocuous.  Packed with plant-based emollients like sunflower and macadamia oils, the latter providing it with a high anti-oxidant profile, it has a nourishing texture that feels good when initially applied against the skin.  But it's when you start to massage it over your face that you begin to see and feel just how truly potent the polish is.

The embedded microbeads pack a heavier punch than most in both purpose and size.  In lieu of being docile and bubble-like, these are visibly more granular with a gentle but effective grit to purify and polish the skin to a fresh finish.  My face felt clean, supple and soft after using... not at all stressed or abused.  And it has a light, dare I say "apricot-y" scent that's pretty nice, too.  #WINNING! 

So there you have it!  This scrub earns an A+ in my book.  It does exactly what it claims and does it with authority.  I like it mucho and although my fondness for it falls a tad short of me financially committing to a full-size version just yet, I am rather glad I got my hands on a mini.  It's the perfect polish for brightening and cleansing, and I'm very happy I got to give it a go!    

Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish is available at Nordstrom and retails for $32/3.4 oz.   

Weekend Report: Rock 'n' Roller

Hey, guys!  Well, it's about that time again to do a little shimmy in celebration of yet another weekend!  Do you guys have any plans?  I don't.  Well, I may hook up with a friend (wink-wink) on Saturday, but other than that... I'll be locked in chill-mode.  So, in honor of my potential date with a pretty cool cat, I figured I'd do a dry run through of what I'll probably don that day.  Clothes... well, I'm still piecing my ensemble together.  But what I will be rockin' on my face I already know.  I'm going for a little drama this weekend, ya dig?  And I've assembled all the key players that'll best help me orchestrate and execute my final vision...

After priming my eye and securing its color setting with a shellacking of L'Oreal's 24HR Infallible Eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe, I will be recruiting the out-of-sight Roller Girl palette from Urban Decay to bring some groovy shimmer to my lids.

Roller Girl has a total of four high-pearl/frost shadows nestled in its panel, but I'll only be using two: Woodstock (fuchsia) and Verve (silver-taupe).  Along with MAC's Carbon (black) and Ricepaper (peach-gold) rounding out the color crew, my eyes should end up looking like this: 

On my cheeks will be an ample dose of Hourglass' blush/highlighter hybrid Mood Exposure and finishing off the set as a complement to the eyes in both depth and darkness will be Make Up For Ever's purple lippy tour de force - Rouge Artist Intense #14.  After all the priming, painting and primping, my face should end up like this:

Well, there you have it!  I plan on giving my face a lift with a bit of vampy drama... all courtesy of just a handful of products.  This will be my first time using my Roller Girl palette, too.  (And to the initiated, that comes as no surprise.)  So this should be fun!  Yep, I've got the makeup aspect of my look all figured out and ready to rock 'n' roll this weekend.  #HOLLA!

Now, if only I could figure out what to wear....  Hmm...

Product Purge: Skin

OK, so now that we've got our feet firmly planted in the province of spring, it's only right that I continue on with getting rid of the surplus of old/unused/unwanted items I have hanging around still.  Tossing out the gang of long-forgotten, unconsumed haircare products from my cupboards launched the start of my purge.  And now it's time to tackle the next group of discards: skincare.  Luckily, this is a short list.  Permanently replaced by my roster of staples, I haven't used these items in, like, forever.  So, away they must go... and away they most definitely shall, starting with:

St. Ives' Green Tea Cleanser.  Geared towards those wanting to block breakouts, this face wash relies on the power of salicylic acid as well as natural green tea to get the job done.  I haven't used this in soooo long, but I don't remember not liking it.  I may have found it to be a little drying.  Either way, I didn't find it to be "all that" and quickly found a more impressive substitute. 

Now, this one I remember getting excited about.  With its potent anti-aging properties and salicylic acid combo, I thought it would turn out to be the bee's knees!  But, alas, it wasn't for me.  I dunno, I was underwhelmed by it; it was just OK.  As a cream cleanser, it has a nice consistency and all, but I didn't feel like it was doing anything special for my skin nor did it help to keep the occasional breakouts I was having at the time at bay.

I sorta went St. Ives cray-cray with this next duo.  Already an ardent fan of their Apricot Scrub, I figured I would give their Deep Cleanser as well as the gentler version of their scrub a try since they were all still a part of the Apricot family.  Well, I can say that the cream cleanser, though loaded with skin scrubbing microbeads, did not work for me at all.   

And the gentle scrub, also populated with microbeads in addition to its usual scrubbing agents, did not exfoliate.  To be honest, I really had no business even buying this since the original works so well in leaving my skin looking and feeling smooth and renewed.  Total waste for me.

And do you guys remember this one?  If you do then you know that this Pond's Rejuveness Anti-Wrinkle Cream started off on a good note.  It felt good going on and did alright on my skin... until I started breaking out.  There weren't any dermal explosions, just a few bumps here and there that I noticed after a few weeks' use.  So I must say good-bye to this drugstore ditty as well.

Well, there you have it.  I'm going to see if B-Boy wants any of these unwanted goods (you know most men aren't as picky women are when it comes to certain products).  But if not, in the trash they'll go and onto the next order of business: wardrobe (possibly).  Oh, boy.  I was going through my closet the other day and came across some items that probably should have never made it out of 2014, let alone onto a hanger.  But clothes are kinda tricky 'cause you can usually remix them, so we'll see.  I'm on a roll, though.  And ready to keep this product purge train chuggin' along.  #CHOOCHOO!