This is a little too late, I had been doing makeup tutorials during my vacation off from work and never got around to posting them before New Year’s Eve. I am sad. I can’t even meet my own freaking deadlines! I didn’t do anything last night except for eat fancy Chinese cuisine with my fiancee and my mom. I came back home and watched some Netflix streamed movies with my new PS3.. which I am totally obsessed with right now. I don’t even own any Playstation games yet!
First, I’d like to apologize for the picture quality! I normally take the photos and color correct all of the yellow tones of my bathroom ambiance out and cool it down, but my regular computer hasn’t been hooked up in months and I am using a tiny laptop loaner from work, which doesn’t have all the goodies on it that my desktop has. Anyway, that was just a warning that the photos may be too bright, too yellow and not accurate.
White Glitter Eye
I wanted to do something really frosty, like fairy ice queen, without resorting to blue eyeshadow. You can’t actually see how sparkly the white glitter is in this photo, it was rather vivid, like tiny diamonds on my eye.
How I did it:
Brows: I filled in my brows with the MAC Hodgepodge pencil, which is a taupe-brown lip pencil, but it works great with my new blonde haircolor. To comb my extremely sparse brow hairs into place, I used the Revlon clear brow gel.
Eyes: I primed my entire eyelid with the YSL Touche Nacree Pearly Touch pen. I put a little dot of eyelash glue (Ardell) on the back of my hand, then sprinkled a little bit of the MAC Pro Glitter Reflects Pearl into it and mixed quickly with a small, flat concealer brush from Mark Cosmetics (synthetic hair brush works best) and applied the glitter to the bottom lid area. I added some of the loose glitter right on top of it to make sure there was plenty of coverage. Don’t be afraid to add a little more, but do it in very thin applications at a time. I took a hair dryer and on a cool setting, I dried the eyelash glue/glitter mixture. Your eyelids might seem to feel tight and a bit hard. Just keep blinking until it feels a little less stiff. I also feel that it helps to raise your eyebrows up and down to stretch the lids a little.
With the 219 MAC Pencil brush, I added a matte taupe-medium brown eyeshadow to the crease of my lid. This eyeshadow was from my Coastal Scents 88 eyeshadow palette. Since my brow bone was already highlighted with the YSL frosty pen, I moved into the eyeliner. I used my favorite MAC Chromaline gel eyeliner in Black Black. I applied the gel liner to the lower waterline of my eyes and smudged it with the MAC 219 pencil brush, and had dipped it into a darker brown shadow from my palette to give it a smoky look. I finished off the eyes with the black Lancome Fatale mascara (triple comb wand).
Cheeks : You really can’t even see from the photo, but I used the Sephora brand Blush me Trio in Brun 12 (shown below) as a contour color, highlighter and a bronzer. I finished off the cheeks with Benefit Coralista Blush.
Lips: Simple. Just a gloss. I used Lancome Juicy Tubes in Miracle.
Foundation Used: Maybelline SuperStay Foundation in Sand Beige, and Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Light 4-5.
Pink / Violet Quick Look
When your friend says she’s on her way over and you have like 15 minutes to do your makeup…it’s either time to panic or get out your quick kit. There is no physical “kit” put together, but it’s a way of saying.. no fancy blending or contouring, just high impact color in minutes. You basically need to say good-bye to any sort of hair-do.. just put it in a pony tail or bun with a cute headband, or put on a cute hat.
Eyes: (Brows are exactly the same as the tutorial above) I primed my entire eyelid with the YSL Touche Nacree Pearly Touch pen, I also created a small dot in the inner corners of my eyes and blended with a light touch with my ring finger. I applied the crease color MAC Pro Passionate Matte eyeshadow color first, using the 218 MAC pencil brush, then blending quickly with the MAC 224 Tapered Blending brush. I then applied the MAC Star Violet Veluxe Pearl eyeshadow on the bottom lid, then blending it up into the crease, very lightly, just to mute the crease color just a bit.
I used my favorite MAC Chromaline gel eyeliner in Black Black. I applied the gel liner to the lower waterline of my eyes and smudged it with the MAC 219 pencil brush, and had dipped it into a darker brown shadow from my palette to give it a smoky look. I finished off the eys with Maybelline XXL Volume mascara with the Maybelline Lash Stylist mascara V-comb wand.
Cheeks: I threw on some quick blush, the MAC Mineralize Blush in Gentle (Raspberry with gold flecks).
Lips: MAC Lip Varnish in Pink Patina. The Lip Varnishes are lightweight, not sticky and sheer. You can’t find them anymore, but I have seen them on ebay.com.
Sephora Inspiration Look
As my friend an I were passing Sephora, we noticed a cool picture of a tri-color eyeshadow look in the window, and I luckily found a picture of it online. Sephora.com says that the colors used are Sephora brand eyeshadows, but since I didn’t have those at home, I used similar colors.
Eyes: I used the Benefit Cosmetics Lemon-Aid eyelid primer all over the entire lid. I then applied the Too Faced Silver Shadow to most of my eyelid, except for right under my brows. You can experiment around with different silver shadows, the one I used isn’t a shadow you can buy alone, it normally comes in various Too Faced kits. I feel like the one that I used wasn’t pigmented enough to get that high-intensity shine. If I do this look again, I will try a loose mineral shadow or pigment.
To test the pigment of my blue and purple shadow, I made a light application of each color: MAC Aquadisiac eyeshadow in the inner corner and up into the inner crease with the MAC 218 pencil brush.
The outer corner color could have been better, but I was pressed for time, so I used the Too Faced purple shadow from the same set that the silver eyeshadow came from, again, using the MAC 218 Pencil Brush.
The eyeliner.. of course.. MAC Chromaline Gel Eyeliner in Black Black.
I continued to apply the eyeliner to the bottom waterline of my eyes. I cleaned off my MAC 218 pencil brush and used the MAC Aquadisiac and Too Faced Purple on the bottom under the lashline.
I applied one coat of Mark Cosmetics Make it Big Plumping Mascara.The Sephora model was wearing false lashes, but I really didn’t feel like putting them on just to go out to a quick dinner downtown.
I touched up the purple shadow just a bit to try to deepen the color, but it wasn’t dark enough. This look came out less dramatic than I intended, but it seems like a nice introductory tutorial for someone new to using more than one or two colors of eyeshadow.
Face: I applied a sheer wash of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Porcelain Pink to forehead, cheeks, bridge of nose and chin.
Lips: MAC Lip Varnish in Pink Patina.
It’s been a busy week, so although I sped things up a bit with these tutorials and tried to combine them, I hope you will be able to try these at home with no troubles. Just leave a comment if you have questions! Happy New Year, everyone! Happy New Decade!
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On November 9th, I celebrated my 33rd birthday! I received awesome gifts and even bought myself a gift for my aging skin. hahah!
I remember when Strivectin came out in Macy’s stores where I was working at the time, and everyone was obsessed with StriVectin. The product was originally made and sold as a stretch mark cream, but some ladies that received samples of the product thought it was for their face and they saw awesome results. So now, StriVectin is being sold as both a stretch mark cream and face cream.
I purchased the StriVectin Holiday Gift set at Beauty.com for $99. I thought that was a pretty good bargain since I just wanted to try the products and not commit the the expensive full size bottles. Here’s what you get in the kit:
- StriVectin Neck Cream – StriVectin Neck Cream is the first and only StriVectin formula specifically developed for the sensitive neck area (including the decolletage). StriVectin Neck Cream dramatically reduces the appearance of “turkey neck”. . .lifting, shaping and refining as it produces a smoother, younger-looking contour.
- StriVectin-SD Intensive Concentrate for Existing Stretch Marks – Clinically Proven to Dramatically Reduce the Appearance of Existing Stretch Marks (prominent because of their length, depth, texture, and discoloration). Alters the Appearance of Tone and Texture. Significant, Corroborated Results Seen by 93% of Subjects Tested.
- StriVectin-SD Eye Cream – Helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark circles around the eye. Includes additional soothing agents for the delicate skin around the eye. Same active formula as the original StriVectin-SD? without aromatic oils.
Nothing says Happy Birthday, you 33 year old like a bottle of wrinkle cream! Actually, I am loving everything so far. It seems like I am having minor breakouts, but not sure if it’s from this product. My skintone seems to be clearing up, as in, less red blotches and freckles, in just two days of using this product. The eye cream feels tingly, but the package says that is normal. I do feel like the puffiness is reduced after a few minutes. The neck cream is very moisturizing and although I have no issues with my neck (yet) I am going to continue to use this for preventative purposes!
If anyone has used StriVectin and either loved or hated it, leave a comment about your experiences!
Now on to the good stuff…
Brows
MAC Showstopper Matte shadow (Discontinued, but similar to Espresso) Used Brandon brand eye brow angled shaper brush. I applied Benefit High Brow under brow highlighter pencil BEFORE putting my brows on. It helps the brow powder go on smoother. See my brow tutorial : CLICK HERE
Eyes
I first applied Urban Decay Primer Potion in Nude (UDPP) to entire lid, except where the Benefit High Brow pencil was applied. I used my Mark. brand small, synthetic, rounded concealer brush to apply the MAC Chromaline Black Black Gel to the inner and outer sections of my eyes, only on the bottom lid area, leaving about a half inch blank space in the middle where the copper pigment eye shadow will go next.
I used what people sometimes call the “foiling” technique when applying loose pigment eye shadow. I washed off the above mentioned concealer brush and left it damp. I took a little bit of an old Benefit Cosmetics copper pigment, which looks exactly like the MAC Copper pigment, and applied that to the blank space I left on the bottom lid of my eyes. I used a patting motion to blend in the black edges from the black MAC liner gel. Very lightly! We are going to cover this area with gold glitter, so it doesn’t matter too much if it’s blended in perfectly.
My favorite part is putting the glitter on! (For more detailed info and pics, see my Glitter tutorial!) I used the MAC Gold Glitter, which is a Pro MAC product and can only be purchased at a MAC Pro store location (or ebay.com). Sometimes MAC comes out with limited edition glitter sets that include the gold glitter. You could even find glitter at a craft store, but make sure it’s not huge chunks! The MAC glitter I use is pretty fine. I use eyelash glue to apply the glitter to my lids. It works the best for me and doesn’t fall off while I am out dancing, partying, etc. I use the Ardell lash glue, which comes out of the tube white and dries clear. I made a small dot of glue on the back of my hand, then put a small amount of glitter next to it and mix them up. Using my clean synthetic concealer brush again, I apply the glue/glitter mixture over the top of the copper pigment. I did not put too much on, I wanted the copper pigment to show through just a little bit. I used a hair dryer on a low setting to dry the glitter and glue.
Next, it was time to start doing my crease shading and lining the eyes. I used MAC Sketch eyeshadow in the upper crease, using my NARS Angled Eye Shader brush to blend the crease. I dipped the brush into MAC Star Violet Eye shadow (brown/plum shimmer) and swept the color ever so slightly across that crease just to give it a touch of the shimmer from the shadow. I lined my eyes using the MAC Chromaline Black Black gel liner on top and bottom, then used the MAC 219 pencil brush to fill in the MAC Star Violet eye shadow under the lower lash line.
The mascara used was Lancome Fatale comb wand mascara in black.
Pegasus pendant by Betsey Johnson.
Face and cheeks
For foundation, I used two different brands and formulas. I first filled in my pores and covered blotchy areas with Boots No7 Intelligent Balance Mousse Foundation, in Almond, which is a very thick mousse foundation that leaves your skin a bit dry when used alone. I applied a small amount all over of Maybelline Superstay 24Hr Makeup in Sand Beige. The only powder I used was a very light dusting of MAC Belightful Pressed Powder, which is a heavy shimmer powder, so I concentrated most of it on my cheek area. I applied MAC Pink Swoon blush. (Bright pink, doesn’t look like the picture on the MAC Pro site.)
Lips
This is sort of my signature lip look since I made it up and people keep emailing me about it! hahah! RAD! I used YSL Rouge Pur Lipstick #22 Pink Celebration (Cotton candy pink), over the top of MAC Pinkie Pro lip liner. On top, a coat of MAC Lip Varnish in Polish Me Pink. (Discontinued, neon pink sheer lip gloss)
Hair
I used a huge barrel curling iron (1.5 or 2 inch, I don’t know!) to curl my entire huge head of hair. It took about 20 minutes total. People ask me how I swoop my bangs and it’s SO easy I could die. Instead of curling my bangs under with the curling iron, I curl them up towards the back of my head. First, I spray a very light mist of hairspray that has a light hold. I part my bangs to the side, combing them through to make sure all knots and kinks are out. Holding my bangs straight out in front of me, I curl the bangs up towards the back of my head and hold for about 5 seconds. I let the curl cool off before combing it out. Once it’s cooled off, I start combing downwards and hand-styling them with a little hairspray sprayed on my fingers. I spray everything with a mist and then go!
I had an excellent birthday week, starting off with a great dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in San Francisco. I got some awesome gifts.. check it out!
My fiance gave me an iPod Classic, which holds 40,000 songs. Amazing! Why doesn’t everyone have this??
My mom got me the most comfortable pair of red Cole Haan shoes. They are patent leather red Mary Jane type athletic shoes. I think they are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever put on my feet.
This is the Coach Gramercy embossed accordian zip-around wallet, given to me by my lovely close friend who obviously has great gift-giving taste.
Now this is what I call a deluxe makeup gift! My awesome friend knows exactly the way to my heart.. makeup and cuteness! This adorable box set by Too Faced cosmetics, “World Domination”, is too freaking amazing. There are eye shadows on top with powder liners and brow filelrs, lip palette on the bottom and bronzer and blushes that pop out on the side of the box. Not to mention.. it’s a music box! Needless to say, it was one of the best birthday’s ever.
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I feel like I am going to die. This week has been exhausting and I am so glad I can finally sleep a little bit tomorrow. I won’t go into much detail, but I’ve been wearing my goWear fit device on my arm (as seen on the Biggest Loser) and burning calories like crazy. If I see that I haven’t burned enough calories for the day, I start jogging in place, or dancing in the living room, needless to say I lost three pounds in a week. I am even closer to my Megan Fox dream body goal. LOL..I’m nuts! Anyway.. on to the makeup…
So, I tried a couple new products this week, spent some money, you know how it goes.
I tried the following products:
MAC Full Coverage Foundation in NW20: WOW.. thick and creamy. It was a perfect match for my skintone, but it was a really heavy makeup that never really dried fully on my skin. It does have a matte look, but it tends to get a little greasy. I see this as being good for photographs and events where you aren’t dancing or sweating.. maybe even stage makeup with a good setting powder. I did use powder, but I think I need to use something like plain Cornstarch to set this makeup with. I will continue to try this and update with another review.
Eyeshadow Pro Palette Refills : Blackberry(pictured on bottom) and Star Violet. Awesome colors. I haven’t tried Blackberry yet, but Star Violet ROCKS. The last time I tried to purchase it, it was out of stock, so I am glad I got it this time.
Here is a quick tutorial on my eyebrows (again). I get a lot of people asking me how I do my brows without a stencil and so here it is in more detail:
I think of my brows as a series of connecting straight or slightly curved lines. In the picture above, I made my starting point line on the bottom of my brow first. I use a slanted eyebrow brush (made by Brandon) and a matte powder shadow from MAC (shades vary from time to time, depending on my hair color).
I start the second part of the lines on the top as shown, connecting it with the bottom line at the highest point of my natural brow line.
I fill in that middle area lightly, using upward strokes with my slanted brow brush.
The next and last line is the end of the brow. I press down with my slanted brush to start the line going in the direction I want, then in short quick strokes, work my way down. If you go too far, you can use a q-tip to clean up or shorten the length of your brow. If you see long brow hairs that you want to trim, I normally comb the hairs downwards then cut them.
Finished product ! I no longer need the help of stencils or pencils.. just two products and I am done.
NEXT.. the Chromaline tutorial!
This lovely product is a gel liner and is available in really bright and lovely colors! From the MAC Process Colour collection, I bought Process Magenta and Black Black Chromaline gel products. I used a thin and flat eyeshadow brush to apply the Chromaline and it seemed to work well and wash off the brush very well. The product itself is very easy to apply and blend. It takes a little while to dry, but once it does, it’s waterproof. Creamy and smooth, this is great stuff for applying under eyeshadows as an eyeliner or to use alone.
Here is Process Magenta with Black Black.
Here is Process Magenta with my new MAC Star Violet shadow blended over the crease with Benefit Cosmetics High Brow pencil on the brow bone.
I didn’t have time to apply mascara, but hopefully you get the idea.
I finally got that lipstick I saw in the Christy Turlington Maybelline ad! It’s called: Maybelline ColorSensational Lipcolor, Make Me Pink The swatch of it is on the top. I tried it on my lips and although it did smell like Playdough, I loved the color. It’s a cute baby Barbie pink! Also, it’s pretty moisturizing. Below that swatch is the MAC Process Magenta Paint Stick. I haven’t tried this on my face just yet, but I plan on using it as a blush and lip color. (Subscribe to this blog to see what I end up doing with the Paint Stick! Click on “Subscribe” button on the upper left column)
UP NEXT.. Dita Von Teese pin-up girl makeup tutorial… for a friend who has a Halloween request!
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