Plus Size Probs: Save Me From The Chafing!

It’s summer time and man has it been a hot one. The Southern California weather has really done a number on me, and as much as I love wearing jeans, it’s just too much in the summer. They stick to my legs with sweat, they’re difficult to move around in during my summer activities and it’s just no fun to feel like you’re five seconds away from dying of heat exhaustion. “Elise, why don’t you wear shorts?” I know, I know. Shorts would solve all of my problems, but like most plus size gals (and some not plus size, as well) we are victims of the chub rub. The chafing of our big, beautiful thighs that can cause discomfort, bumps, and even rashes when we wear a pair of shorts.

“Wear longer shorts!” people may say, but I don’t want to wear Bermuda shorts every day. I want to wear some normal, short shorts! I want to wear the crochet shorts and the distressed shorts, and the loose, flowy shorts, but alas, my thighs beg to differ.

Fear no longer, though, for I have found a product that will save you from the chafing! Ladies (and gentlemen, too), I introduce to you: Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel. Now, don’t run away at the word “Monistat,” which is known for its feminine hygiene products (relate-able to Vagisil). This stuff is 100% different and will save your life.

This stuff has many uses (I actually use it as a makeup primer, as well) but it’s main, intended use is to create a protective layer over your skin to avoid chafing. And it does its job! It won’t last all day long, but it definitely lasts a long time! I have brought this with me to Disneyland over and over again, Warped Tour, Work – anywhere I am going to be walking around in shorts or dresses.

It retails for under $10 and can be found at many different stores! I buy mine from Wal-Mart, but I am sure places like Target or Walgreens may have it as well.

The best way to use this is to apply lotion all over your legs (even your inner thighs). Moisturized skin is happy skin! Once is has completely soaked in, squeeze some of this onto your fingers and rub it together a bit and apply to the desired area. It doesn’t clog pores, simply creates a smooth surface over your skin to protect your pores and skin from getting irritated from the sweat and chafing that occurs on a hot day in shorts or a dress. It goes on as a clear, silicone-based gel and then dries to a powder finish. You don’t need to rub it in as much as lotion, though. It’s made to sit on the surface of your skin, so just rub it around a little bit to put a thing layer over the desired area, but don’t keep rubbing it in until you can’t feel it anymore. Also, there is no way you can “over apply” this stuff. Depending on your preference, you can put a thin layer or a think layer. Then, similar to makeup, you can “set” the gel with some powder. I recommend Anti-Monkey Butt, which is a chafing relief powder that can also be found at Wal-Mart. Pour some powder into your hand and just pat it over the area, careful not to rub off the gel before it has set to your skin. (I would recommend standing in the bathtub so you don’t get powder on the floor. Or doing this while you sit on the toilet. Strange, but that way the excess powder doesn’t turn your rug white). Then you’re good to go!

Sometimes when I wear my bra for a long day, I can get some armpit irritation so I have just recently started putting this around my armpits after applying my deodorant. It works! This stuff can go virtually anywhere and will not irritate your skin (unless you are allergic to any of the ingredients, of course).

I swear by this stuff and have been buying it for a couple of years now. Here are some of the ways I use it:

– Makeup primer (I apply a mattifying primer and then a thin layer of this over for a smooth surface)

– Thigh chafing protectant

– Underarm protectant

– Razer burn protectant (apply this on dry skin after shaving and moisturizing to help prevent razer bumps from the friction of your clothing. Works great for the bikini area)

It really works! Once at Disneyland I had my friend give it a try because she asked me what it was that I was rubbing on my inner thighs, and at first she insisted that she didn’t need it. She’s a tiny little thing, but has some bigger thighs that rub. It doesn’t bother her too much, but she can sometime get some irritation. I insisted she try it. So she did and all day she kept saying, “it’s so smooth! I feel like walking has never been this easy!” She then turned our other friend on to it, who went out the very next day and bought her own tube! It works, it really does.

Let me know if you check it out or have used this product before. If I were to review this product it would get a 10/10 100% A+++ because it’s that amazing.

Also let me know if you’d like to have a more detailed post on how I use this as my makeup primer. I know it seems a bit unusual, so if you want, I could make a post about it!

Thank you for reading and I hope you got something valuable from this post! Muah!

NYX Butter Lip Balm Review

I purchased the NYX butter lip balms a few months ago. I didn’t look too much into them before purchasing them off of the website – I decided I would take a leap of faith and hope that they would be worth the money. I’ve been using them regularly for a while now, and have decided to write a small review about them. A lot of my friends and family know this, but I have something I must admit. My name is Elise, and I am addicted to chapstick. I have one stashed in every room of the house and I have at least three floating around my purse and backpack at all times. I have five on my vanity alone. I have at least ten unopened packages stored in one of my drawers. I’m very picky about my chapstick and lip balms, and so I thought that this would be a suitable post for me. Let’s jump right into it then!

PIGMENTATION

These lip balms come in eight different colors: Parfait, Mauve, Red Velvet, Macaron, Marshmallow, Biscotti, Panna Cotta, and Brownie. They are on the NYX website for four dollars each. A bit pricey for a chapstick/lip balm in my opinion, but I suppose the pigmentation adds to the cost. I purchased two different colors: Parfait and Red Velvet.

These are only lip balms, and therefore the color pigmentation is very faint, but still enough for it to be noticeable. It’s nothing close to a lipstick and slightly less noticeable than a lip gloss because it has more of a matte finish, so there’s no shine to bring it attention. It has a slight shine in pictures and upon first application, but it dries to a velvety/semi-matte finish to make it look really natural.

Parfait: On the website, it is described as “fuchsia with blue undertones.” I would say that this description is spot on.

This color is definitely my favorite of the two. I think that cool undertones look better with my skin color. It’s not super noticeable and I feel like it mostly just enhances the natural color of my lips.

Red Velvet: On the website, it is described as “pure red.” When I purchased this, I had very high expectations and I have to admit that I was slightly let down.

After initial application, it looks fine. But I feel like the color doesn’t last on this one. It fades in the middle and makes it look like I’m wearing a faded, red lip liner. Someone on the website described it as looking like you just ate a popsicle, and it does look like that. Maybe a two year old that ate a popsicle. I just think the red color does not look good on me after a little bit of wear. I still use it, but usually before I am going to apply a red lipstick or lip gloss, just to moisturize my lips and add to the color I am going to be applying.

MOISTURIZING QUALITIES

Just to let you know where I stand with chapstick, I’ll tell you the kind that I prefer. My holy grail of chapsticks is definitely my original Burt’s Bees chapstick. That is my favorite because I can feel it moisturizing my lips. I do not like baby lips at all, as most people do. I feel like it only coats the surface and slides right off after after I rub my lips together a couple of times. I like chapstick that sinks into my lips and stays put for a long time. So, now that you know what I look for, on to the NYX butter lip balm analysis.

This lip balm really is buttery, without the slippery, greasy feeling, of course. It goes on so smooth and rubs in so nicely. It’s not slick or slimy and feels amazing on my lips. I love rubbing my lips together when I am wearing it because it just feels so smooth and, I don’t know, nourishing, I guess.

It does last for a significant amount of time. It can last me three hours just fine, even with sips of water here and there. After eating, though, I definitely need to reapply. My lips get chapped and dry very easily and for this to last three hours is great to me. Most of my chapsticks don’t last me that long. My Burt’s Bees can last me four to five hours and baby lips lasts me thirty minutes, at most. I usually reapply my chapstick every couple of hours just to avoid ever having my lips go dry on me, but sometimes at school and work, I don’t get the chance to reapply as much as I would like to. Plus, with wearing a lip balm with pigmentation, in order to keep the color fresh you need to reapply every couple of hours, maybe even every other hour. But that’s only if you don’t want the color to fade.

Overall, these lip balms feel great on my lips. In fact, I just put some on and I can’t stop rubbing my lips together as I type this. The lasting power is great for me, even when drinking, but not after eating.

FINAL VERDICT

I would say that she lip balms are adorable, smell delicious, feel great, and are very much well worth the money. I plan on purchasing the color Biscotti next and possibly even Panna Cotta.

Let me know if you give these a try and what colors your decide to try! If you have any further questions please feel free to leave me a comment. Thanks for reading!

Jessup Brushes Review

I found these brushes on eBay a few months ago for a steal! I think I only spent around fourteen dollars on eBay for this set of brushes. I looked them up a bit and it turns out a few instagram makeup artists have tried them out as well. Many people have claimed that these Jessup Brushes are a dupe for some of Sigma’s brushes. (If you don’t know what a dupe is, click here to read my post about what a dupe is in makeup terms.) I needed to test these out and see if they were really as great as people were saying. I have been using these brushes daily for the last seven to eight months and finally feel that I know them well enough to write an accurate post on these Sigma dupes

Here is the link to the eBay search for these brushes. I couldn’t find my exact seller, but these search results are exact to the ones I had when I looked them up.

APPEARANCE
I don’t care what you say, appearance does matter! After all, we are going to be rubbing these things all over our faces to try and make us look pretty – I think our utensils should at least be appealing. These brushes come in several different color options for both the wooden handles and the metal. The wood is available in pink, white, black, and I think some sellers might have it in blue as well. The metal part is available in either gold or silver. I decided to just keep it simple and went with black and gold (although I do with I would have gotten the pink handles!). The bristles of the brushes are a dark brown color with white/gray tips. And then there’s the brand name, Jessup, written in gold on the handles. These brushes do not have names or numbers in order to classify them since they are a cheaper brand, but that doesn’t bother me. I don’t really pay attention to the names of brushes, anyway.

Here’s a closer look at the color of the tips since my brushes in the above picture are slightly messy from use.

APPLICATION & USE
These brushes are made of synthetic hair which means the hair is fake. And although I’m not completely educated on the difference between synthetic and real hair, I have heard that synthetic hair helps in the application process because less product is absorbed onto the brush, and more is actually being applied to your face. I have also noticed that these brushes do not get as oily as some other ones that I have used in the past and that is because with real hair brushes, the oils stick to the hair (think of the hair on your head and how it holds oils in). Because of this, the application is smoother and the product glides right onto my face. It also helps to get more coverage since more product is going on your face.

I have really sensitive skin and I have found that these brushes are so soft and gentle on my face and I really think that has helped with lessening any breakouts I get. I feel like because the brushes are synthetic and less oils are absorbed into them, that they stay a bit cleaner. It’s still essential to clean your makeup brushes for sanitary reasons, but these brushes do just feel cleaner on my face and I think that really helps with the cleanliness of my skin since the brushes aren’t distributing that many old oils or old product back onto my face with each use.

Here are the brushes and the breakdown of how I use them all:

1. At first I didn’t know what to use this brush for, but I’ve been using it for my bronzer/contouring lately and I really like it. It has a bit of a point on the end so it makes it easier to contour fine line and then the sides are great for blending it out.

2. I use this brush very rarely. It’s a foundation brush that is curved over the top. I use it for buffing out and caked up areas on my face and I sometimes use it to buff out highlights and concealer. It’s kind of my odd-jobs face brush.

3. This brush kind of does the same thing as the number 2 brush. Just odd-jobs here and there.

4. This a flat-top, angled foundation brush and I use it for my cream contouring. Since it’s angled it really helps to blend out the lines of the dark foundation that I use for contouring.

5. This is my foundation brush that I use for my initial application of my foundation. It’s a flat-top brush and works perfectly for buffing out my foundation. It’s my favorite brush that I have ever used for my foundation.

6. I use this to line out my areas that I highlight (under my eyes, my cupid’s bow, the center of my forehead, and my chin).

7. This brush is great for going in with some more cream contour for a darker application.

8. This brush is my concealer brush. I use it to stipple on any concealer over blemishes or red patches.

9. I use this brush for blending out my eyeshadow. This is the only brush out of this set that I don’t use for foundations or concealers.

10. This is my odd-jobs brush. I use it to blend random things out that might be cakey-looking or to just smooth out any lines/creases in my foundation that I get under my eye while I’m applying.

DURABILITY
These brushes did not feel very sturdy when I purchased them, but I continued to use them as I would with any other brush. After a couple months of use, my contouring brush (brush number 4) broke!

I was pretty upset at first, but I decided to take matters into my own hands. I used some of my Gorilla Super Glue (I love this stuff) and put the glue on the inside of the top half, and around the unpainted wood of the handle. I squeezed them together and held it in place for a minute and then let it dry overnight. Good as new! – Actually, better than new. It’s really sturdy and I haven’t had any problems with it since. One of my other brushes is loose now and I have my Gorilla Glue on standby for when it finally comes apart. It’s not a major issue, but it does kind of suck. I’m just glad it was such an easy fix.

OVERALL RATING
The only con that I have encountered with these brushes was the durability, but even then, it could be easily fixed. And I think that price alone definitely outweighs that single con. These brushes are great for any level: whether you’re new to makeup or a professional makeup artist. I would recommend these brushes to everybody. They feel great on my face and like I said, they’re so cheap! If you really want to dish out the money for the higher-end makeup brushes, by all means, go right ahead; however, I don’t feel the need to purchase something so expensive when these brushes work perfectly fine for me.

If you’re looking for new foundation brushes or just looking to bulk up your brushes collection, I highly suggest purchasing these. I will continue to use these brushes until they fall apart and then once that happens, I will repurchase them.

I hope this review has helped you in some way. Let me know if you have any questions about them and also let me know what you think of these brushes if you have tried them out, too.

Photos by Jacob Medeiros

10 Essential Hair Dying Matierials

There are ten items that I find myself using every time I dye my hair – whether I’m bleaching it or dying it purple. These items are essential to nearly every single dye job.

My list of the top ten hair dying tools that are essential for any and every dye job

1. Clips: I use the butterfly clips that are pictured in the image above. They grab a decent amount of hair and because they are plastic, they are easily washed – which means you can get hair dye all over them! Clips are important for sectioning off your hair or moving already dyed hair out of the way. You can buy a pack of these for under ten dollars at Sally’s Beauty Supply or most other beauty stores. You can probably find them for a great price on eBay or Amazon, as well. I would advise getting a pack of them and not just one or two – I use anywhere between one to five of these each time I dye my hair; depending on what kind of dye-job I am doing.

2. Hair Ties: I would suggest using black hair ties when dying your hair because even if you get dye all over them, you can’t really tell because they’re already black. Make sure they are not the rubbery ones – make sure they are the soft ones so they can slip in and out of your hair easier. These are also great for sectioning off your hair. I often section my hair off with a ponytail and then use one of the clips from Number 1 to clip the ponytail out of the way. (Note: Don’t put hair up in bun with an elastic – you’ll be wearing gloves and it’s a nightmare to get the hair tie out of a bun with gloves on. Trust me, I know.)

3. Gloves: Nobody wants dyed hands! Hair dye can dye your skin for up to a week, even with constant washing! I use black latex gloves that I purchased from Sally’s Beauty Supply. The ones I got are nice and thick so hair dye never gets on my hands. They’re also reusable, so that’s a huge plus. You can find a decent pair of latex gloves for a couple of dollars and under. (Note: Try not to use the doctor’s office kind. I mean, you can use those but they are very rubbery and stick to your hair, causing a lot of unnecessary pain from the pulling. Plus, they are very thin and more prone to holes.)

4. Old Sheets/Towels: It is important to protect the area in which you plan on dying your hair. I usually dye my hair in my bathroom, so I make sure to remove the rug from the floor and clear off the counter-top completely. I then put down some old sheets to protect the floor and get old newspapers or towels to cover the counter top. Sometimes I even tape some up on the wall behind me because when you’re getting the back of your head, you can flick some dye onto the wall.

5. Paper towels: It’s also good to keep some paper towels handy in case you get some hair dye somewhere on your face. That way you can wipe it off before you give yourself polka dots.

6. Bobby pins: Secure back any little hairs or layers that don’t fit in a ponytail or are too stubborn to remain within a clip. Sometimes already dyed little hairs can be touching your neck or even your cheek and you won’t notice until after you’ve washed the dye out. Secure those suckers down with a bobby pin to keep your face from being striped!

7. Petroleum Jelly: This stuff works wonders. Apply some to the skin around your hairline in order to protect the skin from being dyed. It really works! Apply a decent amount – it doesn’t need to be caked on, but also make sure it isn’t rubbed into your skin. Put it on so it covers about an inch of your skin. You can also dip a paper towel into it and use it to rub off some dye that might have gotten on your arms or neck. It comes off easily – just use some soap or shampoo while in the shower to get it off! If there’s any leftover, it will just absorb into your skin.

8. Comb: A comb is great for parting your sections and combing out any last-minute tangles. In order to make sure that you have evenly soaked your hair in dye, run a comb through it to get it all the way through. It also helps to pull out some of the excess dye to reduce your rinsing time in the shower. The comb I have pictured is available at Sally’s Beauty supply and has a metal application to the handle that is used for precision when parting your hair. It is great for picking out individual hairs and sectioning them off.

9. Old shirt: Remember when you bought that t-shirt from Wal-Mart that you thought was cute but actually ended up being an embarrassing part of your wardrobe? Well, go find it! Use old, unimportant t-shirts when you are dying your hair that way you don’t ruin a perfectly wearable shirt. If you don’t have any old t-shirts, head on over to Target, Wal-Mart, JoAnn’s, or even the dollar store and buy a simple t-shirt that you won’t grow attached to. I’d also advise wearing bottoms that aren’t important either. And your socks/shoes (if you’re wearing any) shouldn’t be important either. Globs of hair dye manage to get everywhere.

10. Bowl and brush: If you are using a box-dye, you might not need this because they usually come with a small application bottle; however, I still pour my dye into a plastic bowl and mix it around with an application brush. A bowl makes it easier to mix up your hair dye and it also helps you to see how much you have left so you can manage the portions you’re using on each section. I purchased a plastic bowl similar to the one pictured at Sally’s Beauty Supply for a couple of bucks. I have a cute purple one and a turquoise one. The application brush is great to help brush the hair dye onto your strands of hair. I mostly use my hands, but I do use my brush when I need to get an area with more precision – like the part or an area that is close to other hair that I am trying to avoid.

I hope you guys have found this helpful! Let me know what your essential items are in the comments