Happy Hump Day.

Today I wanted to tell you about my new favorite foundation.

I’ve used Bare Minerals since 2006 and while I still adore it there are times(like this winter) I prefer a liquid foundation.

That leads me to my two liquid foundation staples Makeup Forever HD and Nars Sheer Glow.

I love the way the Nars HD Foundation lasts but it always seems to find a dry patch or fine line to settle into which drives me crazy and the Nars Sheer Glow is amazing it leaves my skin looking fresh and dewy but it doesn’t last very long on my oily/combo skin.

Which leads me to my new favorite foundation which is the ELF Flawless Finish Foundation.

It’s a lightweight, oil-free formula that blends in naturally for a beautiful semi-matte finish.

It’s like ELF took the lasting power of Makeup Forever HD and mixed it with the dewy finish of Sheer Glow and created the perfect product.

I know a lot of you out there are thinking I must have lost my mind.

I mean how can a $6.00 foundation compete with $40 dollar ones?

I don’t have an answer for you all I can say is trust me they can and at only $6.00 if it doesn’t work out for you then you’re not out a lot of money.

You can purchase Flawless Finish on eyeslipsface.com.

Has anyone tried the ELF Flawless Finish Foundation before?

If so I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Best,

Any Benefit fans out there?

If so you’ll be excited to hear they have two new products coming soon.

Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow!

A brightening makeup that’s oil-free with SPF 25 PA+++.

Cabana Glama.

This vacation-ready makeup kit has everything you need for a gorgeous glow all year long. It’s the ultimate brightening & bronzing collection!

Both products available soon at BenefitCosmetics.com.

I’m so excited to bring you this review today because one of you will get a chance to win all 3 products I mention at the end of this review so keep reading….

Miracle Skin Transformer SPF20 $48.00

What they say:

Miracle Skin Transformer SPF20 Face – a breakthrough 5-in-1 tinted skin enhancer designed to Hydrate, Prime, Enhance, Mattify & Protect your skin in a one simple step. This multi-tasking complexion enhancer instantly improves skin tone, luminosity, and texture while smoothing out and minimizing the look of pores, fine lines and pigmentation imperfections in seconds.

My thoughts:

This product is wonderful! It’s like a tinted moisturizer and primer built into one. On days when my skin is behaving I can use this product on it’s on with a lil bit of the concealer and I’m done.

Most of the time though I use it like a primer under my foundation of choice.

I love that this product is an all in one so it enhances and mattifies your skin while leaving it luminious and healthy looking.

And since it contains SPF it’s protecting your skin as well.

This product is perfect for those of you like myself with large pores and oily skin as this product really takes care of both of those problems, but it’s also hydrating so I’m sure it would work for those of you with drier skin as well.

Miracle Skin Transformer Treat & Conceal $36.00

What they say:

The first-ever naturally derived silicone based concealer,
Treat & Conceal hydrates, covers and protects with powerful
treatment benefits.

My thoughts:

I heart this concealer. You can use it under your eyes as well as on your face and it’s amazing. It minimizes the appearance of fine lines and puffiness. I seriously look a good 5 years younger when using this product just because of those reasons alone. I also tried it as an eyeshadow primer and it works great for that as well. If you’re looking for a new concealer I would suggest you give this one a try.

Miracle Skin Transformer Body SPF20 $34.00

What they say:

Miracle Skin Transformer Body SPF20 is a high performance tinted treatment body enhancer with a naturally derived silicone base plus antioxidants zeros in on your body’s skincare concerns to give skin a total transformation. It’s definitely not just another moisturizer. Transform the appearance of arms, legs and décolleté – you’ll see a difference instantly: Skin looks smoother, firmer, and totally flawless.

My Thoughts:

I used this product on a date night with the hubby this past weekend and I could tell such a difference in my skin. It felt so soft and smooth and just looked flawless.

Overall, I’d say out of the three products that the concealer is my favorite or maybe it’s the skin transformer or the concealer, I don’t know they’re all lovely.

The Skin Transformer Products can be purchased at Sephora or online here.

But first why not try to win them?

One winner will win all three products mentioned above a $118.00 Value!!

Good luck!!

Rules:

• To enter to win all three Miracle Skin Transformer products mentioned above worth up to ($118.00),leave me a comment in the comments section below telling me which Miracle Skin Transformer product you’d most like to try. Visit http://miracleskintransformer.com to see all the fabulous products they have.

o Get additional entries by doing each of the following:

o Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/beautyfitness (let me know you did so in your comment)

o Follow Sarah McNamara Beauty Miracle Skin Transformer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/miracleskin (let me know you did so in your comment)

o Tweet the following: @MiracleSkin and @ beautyfitness are giving away Miracle Skin Transformer products! and link to giveaway (http://beauty.beflossy.com/2012/01/miracle-skin-transformer-review-giveaway)

o Follow http://sarahmcnamarabeauty.tumblr.com/ on Tumblr

“I must receive all entries by (January 27, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST) and the odds of winning are determined by the number of entries received. No purchase necessary to enter.”

I just received my January Birchbox and I have to say this is my favorite one so far.

Check it out below….

1. Cherry Pie LaraBar

I love Larabars so I was more than happy to get this sample. No artificial fillers in these natural bars: just dried fruits, nuts, and other wholesome ingredients. Healthy and Tasty.

2. Clark’s Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream

Dull skin no more, thanks to the glycolic acid in this exfoliating moisturizer. The gentle tingle means its working.

3. Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Blue Ribbon

This waterproof eye liner makes eyes stand out and stays put for hours.

4. Archipelago Pomegranate Body Soap

Laced with good for you pomegranate extracts, this triple milled soap smells divine and leaves skin feeling clean, not stripped.

5. Juicy Couture Juicy Couture

Juicy’s signature fragrance is a blend of sweet floral notes. Sophisticated and feminine, it’s perfect for day or night. Love it!

This box was perfect for me. Like I mentioned above it’s my favorite box to date.

I love the Stila liner, the Clarks Botanicals product sounds promising, the Pomegranate soap and Juicy Couture fragrance both smell amazing and the Lara Bar was delicious!

If you’re a BB subscriber, what did you receive in your birchbox this month?

Not a BB subscriber? Have you tried any of these products before?

What did you think?

As always I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Monday.

Hope your week is off to a great start so far.

Today I wanted to tell you about these cleansing wipes by Philosophy.

What they say:

These convenient, disposable cloths deliver everything you love about the original Purity Made Simple cleanser in a mess-free, travel-friendly format. Quickly swipe away dirt, makeup, and oil for perfectly clean skin—no need to rinse! Now you can take purity with you on the go, in your purse, gym bag, or travel bag.

My thoughts:

One of my New Years Resolutions is to always take off my makeup before bed. I know I should, but I don’t always do it. So when I received these as a Christmas gift this year I was very excited. Super quick and easy to use they remove my makeup with one swipe, no need to rinse. I’m keeping them on my nightstand so I won’t have anymore excuses to sleep in my makeup! I like these much better than any other makeup wipes I’ve ever used and I’d repurchase these for sure!

One quick note though if you have extremely sensitive skin you may want to avoid these as I let my sister use them over the holidays and she said they “stung” her face. I however have never had that problem with them.

45 Cloths are $20.00 at Sephora

Anyone else tried these wipes before?

What were your thoughts?

Please share!

Best,

Too Faced Cosmetics Fans will be excited to learn the Spring 2012 Collection titled, The Natural Beauty,will be launching tomorrow on toofaced.com.

Check out the video below to catch a glimpse of a few of the products you’ll find in the new collection.

Any Benefit Highlighter fans out there?

I’m a huge fan of High Beam myself, so when I heard there was a new highlighter set to launch in January I was super excited.

Benefit Sun Beam is a Golden Bronze Complexion Highlighter and it will retail for $26.00.

I can’t wait to try it!

What about you?

To those that know me very well it’s no secret that I adore Dr.Oz.

I think it’s his natural approach to health and wellness, but whatever it is I’m hooked.

I was looking through one of my notebooks today and realized that I’ve taken down quite a few beauty tips in the past few months from his show.

I’m including a few of my favorites below..

Tip #1.
Looking to avoid getting wrinkles?

Take Primrose Oil 500mg twice a day.

Tip #2.
Split Ends?

Take 550mg of black currant essential oil twice a day.

Tip #3.
Want healthy,glowing skin?

Make a mask:

1. Put 3 spoonfuls of coffee grinds into a bowl

2. Put in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil

3. Mix

4. Apply to face and wait for a few minutes then wipe off.

Voila. Soft, glowing skin.

Tip #4.
Got oily hair?

Try Apple Cider Vinegar. Dilute vinegar by mixing one tablespoon into one cup of water. Apply it to hair and then rinse.

I’ve tried the coffee mask and apple cider vinegar and they both work great.

If you try any of these diy beauty tips let me know how it works for you.

Best,

As you may know I received a sample of the Mineralogie Ultimate Cream Concealer in my November Birchbox a few days ago.

Since then I’ve been wearing it daily and thought it was time for a review.

First though….

Here’s what they say:

Say goodbye to dark circles and oily eye lids with Mineralogie’s Ultimate Cream Concealer. Keep your eyes fresh and your complexion flawless by applying a tiny amount of concealer under your foundation. Our Ultimate Cream Concealer also doubles as an eye shadow base. It prevents creases and lines from forming on your eye lid and provides unsurpassed eye shadow staying power. Two uses, one product! And the best part — a little bit goes a long way.

My thoughts:

The Mineralogie Ultimate Cream Concealer is very light and creamy and also non cakey. It’s the perfect concealer for those of us with fine lines and wrinkles near the eyes, because it just melts into your skin. It also covers small imperfections reasonably well. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this product.

If you’re looking for a non cakey, light concealer I would totally recommend this one. And I’ve heard it’s also an amazing eye primer though I haven’t used it for that yet so I can’t say if that’s true or not.

A full size 3ml costs $16 here.

Now I’m very interested in trying other products from the Mineralogie line.

Have you tried any Mineralogie products that you’d recommend?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Best,

I went to the mailbox yesterday and to my surprise my Birchbox had arrived.

I was so excited because I usually don’t receive mine until the 15 at least.

So what did I get this month?

1. LaROCCA Skincare Champagne & Shimmer Supreme Creme

Shea Butter and olive oil join forces to leave skin firm, supple, and ready to set off your favorite party dress.

2. Mineralogie Ultimate Cream Concealer

Made with finely ground minerals, this spot concealer hides under-eye circles and blemishes with zero cake-age.

3. Zoya Nail Polish in Holly

Here’s one type of jewel we can all afford: this emerald polish from Zoya’s Holiday 2011 collection glams up nails in a metallic finish.

4. Avene Cleanance Soap-Free Facial Gel Cleanser

A European skincare star that uses thermal spring water to soothe and soften skin.

5. Too Paper Dolls Ampersand Coasters

Playful, hip coasters from one of Birchbox’s favorite letterpress studios.

What do you think of my box this month?

I was the most excited about the Zoya polish and Avene skincare.

What did you receive if you subscribe?

Have a great weekend lovelies,