'Tis the Season for Beauty!

Bring on the season of hot chocolate, decorations, too much family time, parties and cold weather. Give the best gifts, all while looking your best, with these beauty holiday essentials. {Product provided for review feature consideration}

Embrace the Neutral Trend This Fall!

This fall is all about staying natural and true to yourself. From runway trends to celebrity looks, a natural beauty look is coming into full play this season. Wearing makeup doesn’t mean you have to hide the true you. Use makeup to enhance your already gorgeous features. Use hair products to bring shine and volume to your beautiful locks. Get the full look with the below beauty roundup. {Product provided for review/feature consideration}

Discover Some New Summer Favorites!

As you enjoy your summer, make sure you aren’t missing out on these beauty must-haves. They will leave you feeling cool, refreshed, and gorgeous - even in the thickest humidity. These products are fundamental summer essentials that will be sure to keep you moisturized, cleansed and pretty after a long day out in the sun! {Products provided for review/feature consideration}

For OITNB Star Dascha Polanco, Nude is the New Black with Rimmel London!

Dascha showed off her LOTD (lip of the day) on Instagram

Who says you have to go bold to be glamorous? Stay glam this summer with neutral makeup! Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer in Nude Eclipse sets the tone for a smokey eye or casual summer day look. Orange is the New Black Actress, Dascha Polanco, can’t get enough of it! Apply it on bare lips or on top of a nude/light pink lipstick for a sultry effect.

Travel the World With Your Beauty Routine

Do the Olympics have you aching to journey to foreign lands? Even if you can't continent hop literally, you certainly can with your beauty routine! Let's go around the world AND look our personal best with these must-have beauty finds from Greece, France, Japan, UK, USA, and Finland. Dry skin, chapped lips, stubby lashes, dull complexion, and lack of beauty sleep don’t stand a chance with this Olympic beauty team. {Products sent for review/feature consideration}

Valentine's Day Beauty Must-Haves

Unleash your inner bombshell with a hot new look just in time for Valentine’s Day! These beauty products will instantly boost your wow factor and keep him coming back for more. {Products sent for feature consideration}

Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick (Swatches)

So I'm a bad beauty blogger, in the sense that I hate to take pictures of myself and I don't wear makeup everyday, but I'm making a conscientious effort to do better. So here's a bit of a first step, it's not pictures of me wearing the lipsticks {though I may get the courage to add those at some point later on}, but here are some swatches of the GORGEOUS Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipsticks. I was sent 6 of the 20 shades and they are so absolutely beautiful, I will be buying more!

Fab Five Friday: Blush! (Fall Into Beauty)

Nothing wakes up a dull complexion like a touch of fresh color on the cheeks! Here are my favorite blushes to add that wind blown appearance to your cheeks {without having to brave the elements}! 

Four Steps to a Fresh, Flawless Face with Rimmel! (And a GIVEAWAY!)

· Begin with Rimmel London Match Perfection Foundation ($8.99), a light perfecting radiance foundation, that gives traceless coverage and perfectly flawless skin under any light. Lasts all day and has SPF 18 – perfect for summer!

Simple, Glowing Summertime Skin with Rimmel London

All you need for pretty, glowing skin all summer long!

Someone on Instagram posed the question as to whether it was preferable to wear less makeup in the summer heat or to pack it on in an effort to stay flawless despite the heat. Personally, I opt for the less is more approach, but with the right products {like the ones pictured above from Rimmel London, which I was sent to try out for an honest review}, you can master a flawless looking complexion without piling on products!

Katy Perry Stuns at the Grammy's in Rimmel London! AKA: Get the Look

Honestly, it always surprises me when I hear about celebrity/professional stylists and makeup artists using drug store products: I sort of give a silent cheer that the staples I've known all along are of good quality and give great results are vetted by the pros. But I was especially pleased to hear that the celebrity that the celebrity that the hubby and I thought was one of the best looking at last night's Grammy Awards, Katy Perry, achieved her gorgeous makeup look with one of my drugstore go to's, Rimmel London!

Stay Glossy with Rimmel London!

From top to bottom: Captivate Me, Eternal Flirt, My Eternity, and Seduce Me

Full Disclosure: The names of the glosses must've been on the protective plastic wrapping, because it is not anywhere on the actual product, so I'm actually making an educated guess on the names based off of what I found on the Rimmel London website...

Back to your regularly scheduled post: 

How to Look Like a Party Girl, Without the Party! AKA: A FOTD (Just not from today)...

I did this look a while ago, so I can't quite remember how I achieved it (my bad), but I can tell you what I used to get it...

Another Day, Another Face! AKA: FOTD

I've been really hesitant about plastering my face on this blog, but seeing as this is a beauty blog and all, and I do fairly often discuss makeup, it's probably not fair to not at least show you what it looks like on me *sometimes*. So here goes (don't judge me)...

So yeah, that's me. I'm not so good at the self portraiture, but I'm hoping if I do it more, I'll get better. My hair is in two strand twists that I just pulled up and back (it actually looks really cool, but I can't figure out how to get a good picture of it). My bracelet is from BaubleBar (I'm obsessed with them lately) and the watch is from Send The Trend (love them too!). But on to the important stuff-the makeup!

Classic Smokey Eye With Rimmel London-AKA: Give Good Face

Classic Smokey Eye With Rimmel London by mamafashionist1 featuring rimmel lipstick

Rimmel London originated with perfumer Eugene Rimmel, whose experimentation with fragrance and love of color led him to cosmetics. Upon his death in 1887 his sons took over developing the extensive range of shades and textures. Today Rimmel London creates contemporary products with a professional finish, from eyeshadow palettes and mascaras to classic khol eyeliners. 

The Iconic Fall Collection by Kate Moss for Rimmel London

I thought it was ironic that the 4 shades I received for review are the same shades featured in the new fall ad! (From left to right: 15, 11, 01, and 06)

The Iconic Fall Collection from Rimmel London is a continuation of their collaboration with uber model, Kate Moss. Encased in an exclusive signature pack, these alluring shades were developed by Kate for Rimmel and capture her unique, sexy and unconventional style.

Rimmel London Glam'Eyes HD Eyeshadows

As you can see, I've already dipped my brush into  Black Cab! In the middle is English Oak and to the right is Purple Reign.

I LOVE eye shadows! One of the things that I love about Rimmel London's Glam'Eyes HD Eyeshadows is that you get 4 shadows-everything you need for a complete look-in one posh little package. There are times when I have to run out of the house and can't finish my makeup application, and a chic little palette like this is perfect for allowing me to put on my face, while literally on the go!

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Powder Blush in Pink Sorbet: AKA My HG Blush

I'm going to be honest with you lovelies, up until fairly recently, my feeling towards blush have been a bit ambivalent. I mean, if I was going some place special and went through the trouble of putting on foundation, then I would apply some blush so that my face would have a bit of color. But I think I had been relying on the same 2 or 3 blushes I had from my time as a mark. rep (which was ages ago) and the blushes in a well loved (and also ancient) palette from Sephora. In other words, I had never purchased a blush on its own and simply because I felt as if it was a necessary component in my makeup routine. 

MMM: Rimmel London Lasting Finish Pro

From l-r: Bare Naked, Steel Grey, Posh Pink, Cherry Fashion, Wild Orchid

I've long been a fan of Rimmel London for their quality, yet inexpensive cosmetics. They have a huge variety of products and such a wide selection of colors in any given category-there's really something there for everyone. I particularly love several of their mascara formulas (including Scandal'Eyes), Match Perfection Bronzer, and I have more than a handful of their eyeliners (the Professional Eyebrow Pencil and Soft Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Pencils in Jet Black, Pure White and Jungle Green are all things that I repurchase every time I run out). So I was surprised to find out that there was a product in their extensive product line that I was totally unfamiliar with.

Basic Face

Basic Face by quinn-ryan-smith featuring urban decay eyeliner

For the longest time, I felt totally comfortable leaving the house without a bit of makeup on (unless you count lip balm or gloss as makeup). Then I realized what a difference it made to my overall look when I simply applied some black eyeliner, and a sort of signature look was born (to this day I do not walk out the door without black liquid or gel liner on my upper lash line with at least a slight wing to exaggerate the shape of my, what I consider to be small, eyes). Then I discovered the importance of filling in my brows (they do frame your face), and so on and so forth. So while I could still venture outside in total comfort with no makeup (except for the aforementioned liner and balm), I know that I walk a little taller, smile a little brighter, and exude a bit more confidence when I take a few simple steps to better present myself to the outside world. Thus my basic face was born. 

I use this routine when I'm going to out and about, perhaps just running errands with the lil bits or for a trip to the mall with my family. It's simple and quick, but honestly makes a world of difference for my appearance. The end result is something that's equal parts chic and natural; I look perfectly put together, yet effortless.