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Dec 4, 2013

Confessions of a Hostie series rave!

I recently came across Danielle Hugh's Confessions of a Hostie book series and had an opportunity to review them and I honestly can't say how happy I was to invest my time into this series.

As a flight attendant with more than 20 years of experience dealing with turnarounds and tantrums, Danielle condenses what she has gone through into 2 volumes. The first being Confessions of a Hostie: True Stories of an International Flight Attendant and the newly released sequel More Confessions of a Hostie: The Second Sector.

Check out this ADORABLE trailer of the book!

Becoming a flight attendant, or a hostie as it is affectionately known in this book, has also been a dream of mine. It would give me the ability to travel frequently and continue to live a nomadic lifestyle that I am so used to, as well as the chance to meet people from various cultures. I would even accept the early wake-up calls for it. But the major obstacle that has kept me from fulfilling this dream is that I cannot swim, and every time I try to learn, I fail. The closest I have achieved to living a hostie's life has been reading Danielle's books. To start with, she is able to share her personal experiences alongside details of the job perfectly; the book is not about one or the other. And the brilliantly sarcastic yet sweet voice she writes with is just as perfect, sweeping me into the idea that we could be friends in reality because of the easiness to pick up and read along. I can't even count how many pages I earmarked or lines I highlighted because of the sheer hilarity.

Overall, these books are great reads that had me laughing through and through. I blew off my late night study sessions to finish them and it was worth it. Reading the stories truly allowed me to live vicariously and understand the highs and lows of what a flight attendant goes through. I have my fingers crossed that the series continues and would recommend this series to anyone who breathes really, cause it is that awesome!

Confessions of a Hostie: True Stories of an International Flight Attendant and More Confessions of a Hostie: The Second Sector are available as an eBook from most major online book retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads and iTunes. And if you enjoy her books as much as I did, be sure to follow her blog, on Facebook and Twitter @hostiedanielle.

Press Sample. All views expressed are author's own.

Nov 22, 2013

BECCA The One Perfecting Brush review

The One Perfecting Brush from BECCA Cosmetics is a patent-pending brush that is supposed to cut down makeup application time in half, and replace a whole bevy of brushes. My makeup brushes take up a lot of space on my desk so I was happy to test out that theory.

This brush can be used for your entire makeup routine, from applying your base to finishing with powder. The tightly packed brush, which is non-porous allows the product to lay on top of bristles instead of absorbing, which means less product wastage. Now I know it may seem "egh!" to use one brush and dip it into different products, and then apply that to your face. But when I used this brush, I spot-cleaned after each product and there really wasn't any residue or wastage.

The design of this brush is key to multitasking. The wide surface area and handle make it easier for me to work with and really does cut down on application time. The goat hair bristles are packed tightly horizontally, which creates a dense yet airy surface. There are various sides you can use this. To apply product on wide areas, you can use it horizontally or use it sideways to apply product on narrow areas like the brigdge of your nose, chin, etc. Any way you end up using this, it gives you an airbrushed effect. For me, it was similar to what I would get if I used a blending sponge or a dense stipple brush.

Despite already having a ton of brushes, I mainly rely on 3 brushes for basic application: eyeshadow, stipple and a kabuki brush. Aside from highlighting, this brush did reduce my time to spend on application. The one drawback to this is the shape of the handle. I understand it needs to be wide to accommodate different uses but it did not fit in my brush organizer. Storing this in a clean area might be tricky.

It is recommended to wash The One Perfecting Brush every 2 weeks if used daily, by gently washing the bristles in a mild alcohol-free soap. It is important to avoid submerging this brush and allowing it to dry flat or at a slight angle with the bristles pointed down. This prevents water from penetrating too deep and loosening the bristles. Since this brush is made from goat hair, I also condition it.

The One Perfecting Brush costs $49.00 and you can purchase it from Sephora. With Black Friday coming up and free shipping at $50.00, I would definitely suggest getting it in the next two weeks.

Press Sample. All views expressed are author's own.

Nov 14, 2013

Beauty steal - Lorac Serenity eyeshadow dupe

I was organizing my makeup to make room for the damage I am about to do for Black Friday and came across a dupe for Lorac's eyeshadow in Serenity with the eyelid shade from wet n wild's Comfort Zone palette.

Both shadows are comparable in color and texture. As far as wear, Serenity seems to last on me a tad bit longer.

Even though the wet n wild shade looks a bit more red in my swatch, in person it is actually the same. The difference is due to my hand hitting the flash as I snapped the picture.

Purchased by author. All views expressed are author's own.