Hair of the Day!

This is my first time doing a "Hair of the Day" but I'm excited! I got a little too over excited on Photobooth so sorry for the excessive pictures!

I curled my hair with a 1 inch barrel iron and set it with a texturizer- Bumble and Bumble Surfy Spray. Hope you like my first HOTD post!

Collective Haulage

Below are pictures from my hauling over the last week or so. I got a lot of stuff, so here are some better picture of them!

Mac Eyeshadows in: Satin Taupe, Tempting, Carbon

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NC42

Sephora Makeup Removing Wipes for Face

St. Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse

Rimmel Lipsticks: in Airy Fairy and Asia

Rimmel Lipsticks and Quo Stippling Brush

I posted two videos on this haul describing each item a bit more in depth so be sure to check it out :)

Update

Hey girls! Sorry I haven't been posting on my blog, I've been extremely busy and I went away to Canada last weekend. Also this week I have been Youtubing :) I'm back on! You can see my videos in the sidebar or visit:

http://www.youtube.com/user/thebergdorfbrunette

My cousin is visiting for the weekend, so I won't be able to post or shoot another video until Tuesday, but I promise there is loads to come!

xoxo

NYX Palettes Haul: Champagne & Caviar + Smokey Eyes

I got my NYX haul from Nonpareil Boutique yesterday and was I was absolutely ecstatic. I ordered my palettes on a Friday night and on Monday morning I had a confirmation that my order went out. It took about a week for my order to arrive, which is pretty fast I think. I'm not sure if the two palettes I got are completely sold out at Nonpareil yet, but I know that at NYX.com and Cherry Culture.com, they are going very fast. I was lemming 2 other ones- Versus and Romance, but I decided against them, because I already have colors similar to them. However, these two I could NOT resist. They are absolutely gorgeous and a must have. I got them for $8 USD each at Nonpareil, but I think everywhere else they are $9 USD each. Before buying at a website, make sure to check if there are any ongoing promotions to get a discount or free shipping. I missed the one at Nonpareil where you got 20% off any NYX purchase :(

Anyway, here are are my precious babies... I will post swatches soon and give a review on their texture once I play around with them a bit more.. enjoy!

NYX Smokey Eyes Palette

NYX Champagne and Caviar Palette

If you have these, please let me know how you like them! Thanks :)

Manhattan Haul: Forever 21 and Strawberry

So I went to Manhattan again with my future roommate today and had a ball. The main objective? To go to the Forever 21 again in Union Square and go crazy. Of course we did just that.. we caught a 10 am train into the city and got there around 11 am. We took the A C E subway line downtown and walked to Union Square- home to the greatest Forever 21 ever! Haha sorry, I'm a little over dramatic.

We spent over 2 hours in the store. She had never been there before and as I was on my first visit, she was overwhelmed and was ecstatic. Below is my haul from Forever 21 and a little blurb about why I decided on the purchase.

I am going to college somewhere north and it will be a bit chilly so to appease the requests of my mom, I had to pick up a little shrug. This one is cute, it has girly frills and ruffles.. perfect to just throw on over a tank top or more revealing shirt.

I've been having a thing for skirts lately.. I'm planning on wearing this with a black tank top.. pulling the skirt up high and putting a black belt over the elastic. I already tried it on and it looks really good.

I did not get this color top, I got it in gray.. the ruffles are gray too on mine so it is muted. I'm going to wear it as a dress, maybe with leggings on underneath. This is from Forever 21's line Twelve by Twelve.

The minute I saw this shirt in the store, I knew I HAD to have it. It was so gorgeous and so chic, I grabbed it and went to the dressing room, praying that it fit good and it did! I was so excited. I think it cost around $30 USD which is such an amazing price. This stock picture doesn't do it justice, the rhinestones and detailing on the neck is so cute.

I love the color of this shirt, and it's such a simple way to look dressy but casual the same time. The color is so summery and looks great on anyone. I love this top!

After we finally made it out of Forever, I had to stop in this store called Strawberry. Honestly, I thought all of their clothes were a bit tacky, but in the back they were having the most amazing shoe sale and I had to get a pair of gladiator sandals. So I picked up the following pair, for just $19.99 USD!

They are from a brand called Bamboo, I have never heard of them before, but I looked online and if you want to check out Strawberry's website click here. The one I went to was two stores down from the Forever 21 in Union Square. There is a lot of great shopping around there that is affordable so I really recommend making a stop there if you are ever in New York City.

I went to the Sephora there too and I was SO proud of myself, because I had a Yves Saint Laurent lipstick in my hand, but I decided not to buy it, even though I had been lemming one for soo long.

Anyway, that is my haul for you guys! I'm going to do a video so you can actually see everything I bought. Have a great day!

Fyrianne Haul

I am sooo excited! I have gotten so many new shiny things in the past few days and my Fyrianne haul is just a small part of them. I went to Manhattan again yesterday with my roomate-to-be and did some major damage in Forever 21, but I have still yet to post my haul.

I ordered three things from Fyrianne a couple of weeks ago, but I just got my order today. They actually refunded me $4, because they said that my order should have been out sooner and they apologized, which I thought was a very good Customer Service sign.

Anyway, onto my haul:

I ordered the following products:

• Mineral Finishing Oil Powder Control
• Velvet Gel-Silica Primer
• Powder Primer
• Snow Leopard Eyeshadow Sample (Free)

The sole reason I decided to haul from Fyrianne was that I heard that they their products work well with oily skin types... such as myself.. and I was intrigued by their range of items. Based on reviews and recommendations from Makeup Alley, I picked up those particular products. Did I mention that my entire haul was $21 USD????? Each item was like less than $6 USD for the full size. I was really impressed by the inexpensive price and the fact that they gave me $4 back for late shipping. So far I give Fyrianne A+... now I have yet to try out the products and complete my review.

Talk to you all soon! Let me know if you have any experience with Fyrianne and/or the products I ordered!

Lush Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser Review

I'm relatively new to LUSH I do admit, but I am getting to know their products a bit more, and what is worth buying and what is worth trying. I was intrigued by their Angels on Bare Skin cleanser that got many rave reviews and was deemed one of their "best products". So of course I decided to try it out for myself..

As you can see, there are ground almonds infused in the mixture with lavender oil and rose absolute tones (what is this by the way??). The smell is very herbal which is okay... not unpleasant, but not the best smelling thing in the entire world. I was surprised when I first tried it out, because it came in a huge chunk with a weird texture. You have to take a small pea sized amount of it out and mix it in with water to actually apply it to your face. This is the part that I really don't like... it takes way to much effort for my liking to use it.

You can see above what it looks like once you add the water. It becomes a very thin consistency with the water, but there are still chunks that don't dissolve. Perhaps I have not found the best technique to use it yet, but after you mix it, the transfer is relatively messy. The almond chunks get all over my sink and there is a lot of fall out from the cleanser from the application.

The pros are that after I do manage to exfoliate my face with it and rinse it off, my skin does feel very smooth and refreshed afterwards. I have very oily skin and I think it did lessen the shine for me after I used it so I am going to continue to try it out and update my review if I feel that the effort put into using it can balance out it's effects. It costs $9.95 for 3.5 oz of it which is really good. The amount you get will last you a lifetime, so I do think it is worth the money.

Have you tried this? Let me know if you have and your thoughts!

Marshalls and Kohl's Haulage

I went to Marshalls and Kohl's last night and got a few things that I'm pretty happy about. I'll start with my Marshalls haul.

I was sooo happy when I found these. They are Korres Body Milks in Basil Lemon and Bitter Almond. They go for $15 each at Sephora or Korres.com, but I got these babies for $3.99 each! I was so happy, because I recently ordered one from Sephora and paid full retail price (I talk about it in my next video).

I've never heard of this brand before, but there were a lot of products by them at my Marshalls, but I decided not to buy any of their other tanning products. They had a tanning mousse and an instant spray tan also. The item shown above is an Island Bronze: Illuminating Bronzing Creme by the brand Bys. I looked the brand up last night, and apparently it's from Australia. If you've ever heard of them or tried their products out please do let me know! I got the creme for $4.99 at Marshalls. I might try some other items from their line if I hear good things about them.

Onto my Kohl's haul...

I got three Flirt! Squeeze Me Super Shiny Lipglosses in: (from top to bottom) Nectar Fizz, Heavenly Honey and Candy Grapefruit. I haven't tried these out yet, but they are only $12. They are very small though for the price, so don't expect a Juicy Tube size!

Lastly, this is my favorite part of the haul... I got a Simply Vera by Vera Wang handbag! It's genuine leather and I think it's a gorgeous piece. I was originally like $139 USD, but I got it for $27?? What a steal! I love a great bargain!

So let me know what you think girls, I'm changing up the contest too so look out for some better goodies in the prizes! Talk to you all soon and don't forget to subscribe/check out my Youtube channel!

Update!

Just a quick update girls! I got my Macbook Pro today! I've been playing around on it all day and I love it! I'm going to make a video tomorrow morning and update my blog :) I got a manicure today and I got a highlight yellow color from Essie called Funky Limelight. I'm a bit wary about it to be honest, either it's the color that isn't a good formula or the lady didn't do a very good job.

I also have a drugstore haul coming to you tomorrow in my video also. I picked up hair dye at the store and saw this brand called Brucci which had some really awesome shades of nail polish for only like $2 each. I posted on the Makeup Alley boards about it, and a girl said that they were a pretty good brand. I'm planning to go back with a $20 bill and splurging on colors! Talk to you ladies soon!

Hey girls!

Hey girls! Sorry I haven't been posting in like three days.. gasp! I know, such a long time right? Well I've been away at my college orientation and I just got back a couple of hours ago. I should be posting by tomorrow night again so never fear!

I ordered a nice haul from Fyrianne before I left, so I'm really excited to get that. I ordered two of their face primers and a finishing powder, specifially geared towards oily skin. I also should be getting my Mac Book Pro on Friday so woohoo! I'm thinking of starting to make You Tube videos once I get it so... be on the look out! Anyways, have a good day ladies!

xoxo

My Favorite Facial Skincare Products- June

I've always gotten a lot of compliments about my skin being very natural and glowy and questions as to what I use etc, etc. I am not very adventurous with my facial products, most are drugstore which is a good thing so all of you can give them a try for little money! I will start from the left to right as to what the item is and how/when I use it.

1. Neutrogena Oil- Free Acne Wash: I use this in the shower every night or day, whenever I take a shower. It has 2% salicylic acid for acne control and has these little 'micro beads' which exfoliate the skin. I have used this religiously for years.. I've gone through several tubes of this.. and I will continue to purchase it. I put it on after I shampoo my hair and I let it sit and penetrate my skin while I wash my body then I wash it off in the shower. I recommend doing that, because if it's easier to get all the little beads off your face.
   
2. Neutrogena Rapid Clear- Acne Spot Eliminating Gel: This is just a 2% salicylic acid treatment which I just put on pimples and blemishes when they appear. I put it on overnight and by morning I really do see a reduced amount of redness. I usually use the Clean and Clear one, but I ran out and this one is basically the same thing.
3. Murad Acne Spot Treatment: This is a 3% sulfur acne treatment which in my opinion is less strong than the salicylic acid ones. I use this when my face is behaving and just rub it on at night if I feel some pimples coming on.
4. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion: This is the little travel size one. I wanted to try it out before buying the big bottle and I LOVE it. It is my new staple and I'm close to running out. I have been using this as my night time moisturizer for the past month. It's lighter than Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief which I use during the winter.
5. Chanel Activateur Purete- Oil Control Purifying Lotion: This is a bit pricey at $38 but soo worth it. I think I might be using it wrong? I use it after I wash my skin and I dab all over my face with a cotton pad before putting my makeup primer on. It does mattify my skin though, which is the reason why I bought it... but I never really figured out how to correctly use it so help!
6. Vaseline: Duh.. Vaseline! I use this at night and put a dab on my lips to keep them soft.. I heard that they can stop the natural production of lipids or something?? I don't know.. but I've used this at night for years. During the day, my staple is Nivea's Kiss of Moisture Chapstick.
7. Clean and Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer: I've used this for years! Not the Morning Burst one, but the regular one. I honestly can't tell the difference but I love this moisturizer. It is light weight, oil-free and doesn't make my skin too shiny. I use this during the day under my primer or sometimes I mix it in with my liquid foundation.

So those are my seven staple items that I reach for every single day. I have a ton more that I could list, but those 7 I have been using religiously for years so I could honestly say that I recommend them all. Please comment and let me know your top facial skincare products! Thanks girls :)

Accesories: A Turquoise Summer

I love turquoise jewelry. I think they are essential for summer and look great with white or black centered outfits. I got all of these at my local jewelry store called Vines and Roses. Each piece was just under $20 which I think is a really great buy. If you're on Long Island and interested in checking this store out, you can find more information here.

I'm looking to do an Accessories Swap from someone from the United Kingdom. As you have a ton of really great stores I do not have access to- Accessorize, Topshop, etc. Please let me know if you are interested, I can purchase for you from Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, etc. Just send me an email at thebergdorfbrunette1@gmail.com or just comment me back on this post! Thanks :)

Day in Manhattan/Haul: Forever 21, Lush, H&M

Okay so I had a fabulous day yesterday. I caught the early train at 9:23 into the city with my friend Andrea who attends NYU (New York Univeristy), so she knew her way around pretty well... thank god! We accidentally caught the express Peak hour train in so we had to pay $3 extra each, but we were in the city before 10:30 am which was good. From Penn Station we took the subway downtown to the Greenwich Village area where the big Forever 21 one is located. Before going there, we stopped at Starbucks where I got my standard tall, iced vanilla coffee with half and half, two raw sugars and one Splenda. Then we walked to Forever 21 and it was two floors of complete heaven. Since we were there so close to it opening, everything was neat, organized, spotless and clothes were easy to find. When I walked in, I literally was overwhelmed by the massave amount of cute clothing. It took me 3 trips to the dressing rooms to figure out what to purchase and my damage is below.





I also got a black, scoop knit tank top, but I couldn't find the picture for it. Anyway, after Forever 21, we passed a store called Strawberry which I have seen several times around the city, but never actually ventured it. The clothing was unbelievably tacky and cheap in my opinion, but in the back they were having a sale on sandals which caught my eye. We must have spent almost 40 minutes trying shoes on and I was soo close to buying a new pair of gladiator sandals for just $19.99, but I decided against it. Actually I was planning on coming back if I couldn't find another pair, but time didn't allow for that. So then we went to Aerosoles for a quick look and blehh, no luck there.


On to LUSH! Now Andrea has never been in Lush before, heck she hasn't even heard of Lush.. she was a Lush virgin. I introduced her to the wonderful world of handmade soaps and bubble bars and bathbombs.. but she didn't even buy anything for herself. She got the 7 hair items for $15 for her friend's birthday gift, and a massage bar/soap gift pack for her mom's birthday.


I picked up two things as you can see.. the Brazened Honey Mask and a little sample of the Ultra Light Moisturizer. I tried it once and it's heaven for my skin.. I have oily and acne prone on days when I'm PMSing and I can feel the mask working when I put it on for the first time. It's supposed to "exfoliate, detoxify, stimulate and nourish tired skin". Some ingredients include refreshing herbs, fruit juice, spices, ground almonds and moisturizing honey. It was just around $8 USD and so worth it. You have to keep it chilled and it has a shelf life of about a month, because there are eggs in it.



After our LUSH trip, we went to Baluchi's for lunch. It is a small, chain Indian restraunt that has multiple locations around the city. They have a fabulous lunch special where everything is 50% off the menu (excludes take out). I ordered Chicken Tikka Masala and Andrea got Chicken Vindaloo. I highly recommend my dish if you can't take spicy foods. Andrea's was so spicy, when I tried it, my face started sweating profusely. The restaurant itself feels extremely authentic, due to it's decor as you can see below. This is not my picture by the way, I found it online. The only downside was there as no air conditioning and yesterday I was so hot running around.


To find a location in New York or to see their menu, you can visit their website here. I highly reccomend trying it out if you're in the area! After lunch, I had a Barnes & Nobles gift card and I wanted to buy a book: The Lie by Chad Kultgen.



Warning, this book is NOT for feminists or women who are easily disgusted by graphic scenes and sexuality. I picked this up one day wandering around a Borders and starting reading it not knowing what it was about, but I could not put it down... so I decided to purchase it yesterday in the city. The Greenwich village store was out of it, so we walked all the way to Union Square where I purchased it there. On our way out, there was a huge H&M staring at us in the face, so of course we had to go in. I walked out pretty satisfied as I only had to pay $10 USD for this cute, teal colored dress.


After H&M, I realized we were extremely late in catching the 3:43 pm train home, so we literally ran to the subway, ran to Penn Station and at 3:41 pm, caught the LIRR back home. I did not think we were going to make it, but whadddyaa know... we did. All in all, I had a fantastic day, and I'm already planning my next trip which will be next week. I hope you enjoy reading this long post, so let me know your thoughts!

Dry Shampoo: Ojon vs. Pssst!

Dry shampoo. I finally got on the trend and decided to pick up my first bottle- Psssst! from the drugstore. I was pretty happy with my purchase as it did exactly what it's supposed to do. Refresh your hair and take away the oils without having to wash it. All you have to do is shake the can, hold it like about 6 inches away from your roots and spray. Leave it in for a minute or two and let your hair soak up the product, then brush it out. The only thing that bothered me was that since I have very dark, brown hair, it left streaks of white where I sprayed the product. After about fifteen to twenty minutes, it slowly fades, but you can't just run out of the door after applying it if your hair is dark, because you will look like a skunk! It costs around $6 USD and you can purchase it at any drugstore or here online. For $6, I thought it was a great steal.... until I came across Ojon's Rub Out Dry Cleanser.

Ojon's shampoo is aamaazzingggg. Even though it is smaller than the Pssst!'s size and just a tad more expensive, it is SO worth it. It has the most amazing smell, where the Pssst! one does not have any scent to it. I can't really describe the scent that it has, but trust me it smells amazing. It also does not leave any white streaks or residue in my hair which is perfect, because I can just throw it on if I am in a rush. For comparison, the Pssst! size is 4 oz. while the Ojon size that I purchased is 2 oz. I bought the 2 oz. size from Sephora for$10 USD. The actual full size bottle is 4.5 oz and costs $24 USD. You can purchase the mini one from Sephora here.

At the end of the day, I tend to reach for my Ojon dry shampoo more, but Pssst! is more affordable and you get more bang for your buck... soo it really is up to you what you deem worthy of purchasing.

Let me know if you have tried either and what you think! My fabulous city haul is coming soon, as I had a perfect day today running around in Manhattan!

City!

So I'm a Long Island girl, but I don't get to go into the city as much as I would like... but I'm going to tomorrow! I'm catching an early train into Penn Station with my girlfriend who goes to New York University (NYU) and we're going to walk around and shop. I'm excited and will post pictures and whatever I buy! :)

Summer Essentials: Dove Clinical Protection Deoderant

A good deodorant, besides blot paper and blot powder is probably on the top of my list for summer's most essential item. Those hot days and humid weather are what can ruin a perfectly cute outfit with pit stains. The best deodorant to combat that? Dove Clinical Protection. It might be a bit more expensive than your average antiperspirant, since costs about $8-9 USD but it is completely worth it. There are several scents you can get: Wild Rose, Cool Essentials and the original Solid, Original Clean.

Believe me, I have looked for ages and ages for a good deodorant, as I was blessed with the gene to be able to sweat. Disgusting, I know, but I have found it.


The deodorant twists up and the applicator is shown above. One click will do the trick, two turns is how much comes out in the picture. Two is already too much, so it should last quite a long time.




The deodorant is a strange texture. It's not a gel, but it's not a roll on liquid. It's like a light lotion. The above picture is what is looks like rubbed onto my hand, and then when you rub it in, it almost disappears to flesh tone, but you can see it leaves a really slight, white overtone.

It dries quickly, it doesn't stain my clothing and is little black dress friendly, so I highly, highly recommend this deodorant. It is really everything it says it is. It is stopped me from getting those god awful pit stains and I am not worried about having any body odor anymore. So especially for summer, when B.O. can be at it's worst... Dove's Clinical Protection will come in handy. It is can purchased at any drug store for under $10 USD so I would definitley give it a go!

Nars Haul: Blush/Bronzer Duos

Don't forget to enter my contest!!


In light of summer I picked up these two Nars blush/bronzer duos at Sephora. Now they are quite pricey at $37 USD each, but I am hoping they are quite worth it. I didn't swatch them for you, because each time I did, they wouldn't show up on the camera, but they are very true to the color you can see. You can click the pictures to see them full size and get a better idea of the richness in pigmentation.

(Orgasm/Laguna)

The above duo has the infamous Orgasm blush which is a peachy-pink shimmer and the Laguna bronzer which is a sheer light brown shimmer. If you don't own Orgasm already, this might be the perfect way for you to pick up both the blush and bronzer for an extra ten dollars.

(Sin/Casino)

The Sin blush is a berry color with specks of gold, which I am unsure of at this point. I really am not a fan of blushers with glitter in them, because it accentuates all my blemishes and makes me look even shinier than I already am, so I might like the other duo better. But the Casino bronzer is a darker brown with gold shimmer and that looks gorgeous.

There is a third duo in Hungry Heart which is a irridescent gold ivory and a pink sand with a golden sheen, but that one seems to light for my NC40 skin tone. I will report back in a week or two with a review of both and which I like better!

Contest!

So I have a contest for you today! All you have to do is the following:

1. Subscribe to my blog- click follow on the side bar.
2. Send an email to thebergdorfbrunette1@gmail.com with your name, address and your blogspot username (so I can check you subscribed).

And that's it! I'm going to randomly pick the winner in July 25th.

In the picture above are all the goodies the winner is going to get. I am probably going to do a second and third prize too, but I don't know what they are going to be yet. In the first prize are:

• Clinique Happy to Be Roll on Perfume
• LUSH Honeybun Bath Bomb
• Necklace
• Clean and Clear Blot Papers
• Dolice Nailpolish
• Missha Nailpolish
• Crabtree & Evelyn Wisteria Body Lotion
• Balance Shampoo
• Prestige Browliner in Earth Brown

Enter!! Anyone can enter, you can live anywhere in the world. You don't have to live in the US!

Sephora Haul 2

Hey girls! So this is my Sephora Haul 2 for you today. I got:

• Ojon Dry Shampoo
• Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer in Medium Honey
  
• Laura Mercier Eyeshadow Quad in Mediterranean Sea
  
• Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Key Largo
• Makeup Forever Mist and Fix
• DiorShow Mascara in Noir Black (waterproof)
• Juice Beauty Sensitive Green Apple Face Peel

(Laura Mercier Eyeshadow Quad in Mediteranean Sea)

This quad is absolutely gorgeous. I'm sure you have seen is tons of times on all the beauty blog, but I just picked it up. I actually really wanted the Sahara Sun quad, but they were sold out. I think the colors on that quad are more wearable for me, as I'm not too sure how often I will actually use this!

(Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Key Largo)

This is my third Nars eyeshadow duo. They are quite pricey, but soo worth it. The pigmentation on their shadows is amazing too. I absolutely love the right side color- it is a sandy, goldish brown, I should really swatch that for you. This duo is perfect for summer!

Anyway, I haven't used the other products or really any of them yet from this haul, so I can't really discuss or review them. But I will soon!