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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Hey everyone,
Just wanted to let you know I am taking a little vacation, so I won’t be posting for maybe a week or so. If anything super exciting comes up, or if I get the itch to do some type of tutorial (New Year’s Eve makeup!?) I will def. post something up for ya!
Christmas shopping is almost done, still have a little bit more to do.. I wonder if I am going to get some of those cool Sephora gifts that I asked for?? My fiance saw my list and was like, “OH GOD.. more makeup???” I didn’t really ask for makeup! I asked for girly tools like the Clairisonic MIA skin brush and a gigantic makeup train case. We will see what happens. I got him everything HE wanted, so why can’t I get the same in return? EH??? We will see.
Merry Christmas.. yes, I am blonde with a bit of strawberry blonde going on. No more black left in my hair!
Makeup Shown: Maybelline Super Stay Foundation, MAC Hodgepodge pencil on brows, MAC White Glitter on eyes applied with eyelash glue, MAC Chromaline in Black Black eyeliner on inner rims, Lancome Miracle Juicy Tube Lipgloss (faded from pink to white over time), Lancome Fatale Mascara, Bare Minerals Blush.
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 am doing this for a friend who requested a pin-up girl look for Halloween, I know she likes Dita Von Teese, so I chose that look for her (I might do another one if I have time this weekend) since it’s really simple to do and you can get dramatic results pretty easily.
I decided to try my new foundation, Maybelline Superstay 24Hr Makeup in Sand Beige. This color is pretty pale considering the name “Sand Beige” ($9.99). I really love the consistency of this foundation and it goes on beautifully. I am basically comparing this to Revlon Colorstay, which is probably what this product is trying to compete with. I will say that this foundation is good, but it is not great. I still haven’t given it enough of a chance to see if it will break me out or if it “outlasts” Colorstay. I am pleased with the color match because it is not too yellow like the other foundations I have been using.
Super EMO in that pic?? Anyway, yeah, as you can see I am tired and wishing I could sleep, my eyes look like crap… but the coverage of that foundation ROCKS. If you want to go for that super pale Dita complexion, you might need the lightest foundation in this line, perhaps Porcelain Ivory and adding a white powder or cornstarch powder.
I wanted to add a nice glow to my skin, so I chose Bare Escentuals Natural Light Highlighting Duo. You can use any type of shimmer powder product that goes with your skin tone. Don’t use too much or you will end up looking oily and greasy! Just a bit on the cheek bones, forehead, bridge of nose and chin.
The next part, which was the trickiest part for me, was matching the eyebrow shape:
Her brows are definitely filled in, as you can see in the pic that I posted of her. Her brows seem to float on top of her natural brow so she can get that high arch. What I did was the same technique as I normally do on my brows (click here for that tutorial) but I added a little bit of a rounded dip in the front bottom part of my brow and a pointier triangle arch. I also stopped the tail end of my brow in alignment with the end of the corner of my eye. I will admit, I used a few spit-soaked q-tips to refine and shape my brow as my hands were not in the surgical precision kind of mood. The arch is somewhat hard to match on both sides, but with some practice, you will be able to master these. I suggest that you practice your brows ahead of time so you aren’t struggling on Halloween to get these right.
If you have thick brows or brows that you would rather cover up first, (do not attempt to shave off your brows!) there is an amazing tutorial on YouTube featuring a glue stick, concealer and painting on your brows. Click here for a tutorial on how to conceal your brows so you can draw them back on however you wish!
I used a bit of Revlon eyebrow gel in clear to comb and set my brows. I brushed them upwards and then to the sides to keep the hairs in place. It also helps keep your brow powder or paint on. I also suggest if you are going out to a party or dancing, to use some makeup sealant, I use Irene Gari Lipstick Sealer to waterproof my makeup. (Click this link to go to the Irene Gari product page, there is also an eyebrow gel available! Reasonable prices!) You may also try Benefit Cosmetics She-Laq if you don’t mind spending $30. The product lasts years, but there are still cheaper makeup sealers out there.
Next, I applied MAC Brule satin finish eyeshadow over the top of an eyeshadow primer, like Urban Decay Primer Potion. The eyeshadow should be lighter than your skintone and a matte (no shimmer) finish. It gives you a really clean and sophisticated look when paired with the heavy black liner that will go on next!
Below my brow bone, I used Benefit Cosmetics High Brow highlighter pencil, you can also use any matte white or off-white highlighting shadow which is lighter than the shadow you used on your bottom lid. I also used the High Brow pencil to brighten my under eye area by dotting on a few spots of the product and blending it in with a very thin eye cream. (I used Benefit Cosmetics Ooh La Lift eye brightening and tightening product)
Next you want to get out the big guns.. the eyeliner. I prefer to use either a gel / cream or liquid liner for this look. I do not use pencil on my upper lid because I just can’t get it precise enough. For this tutorial, I used the new MAC Chromaline gel liner in Black Black. You want this liner to be matte and not shimmery. It can be shiny if you wish, but I prefer the matte look for this pin-up girl style. I also saw that Wet ‘N Wild has a new creme liner and I haven’t tried it yet, but if you are on a budget, I’d say give it a try. I used the Benefit Cosmetics Bent eyeliner brush. The hairs on this brush are stiff enough to pick up and apply enough product.
I started from the inner corner of my eye, applying pressure paint the gel liner across my lid, as close to my lash line as possible. I stopped once I got to the end of my eye. If the line isn’t thick enough, don’t worry, you can build up the line, but if you think it’s too much, you may have to use a makeup remover cloth to remove it all. Oops! Start small and build your way up to the line thickness you desire.
Next you are going to apply your winged tip to the end of your line. This takes MUCH practice if you have never attempted to do this before. I started off with a small wing and built it up to a thicker wing.
I decided to speed the tutorial up a bit since my camera was running out of battery power, and I have NO idea where the plug is to charge it. Oops. So anyway, I kept building up my eyeliner, since if you notice, Dita’s eyeliner looks like it covers her entire eye. It probably is not, but it is a very thick line. I applied a thick and full coat of mascara, which was the Maybelline Lash Stylist mascara comb(discontinued) mixed with Maybelline XXL Volume and Length mascara, which is a very black mascara, which is what you want. I really do recommend fake lashes for this look, but I was running out of time. I highly recommend these lashes: Ardell Accent Lashes #305.
These are corner lashes that give you a gorgeous winged out look. I loooove these lashes so much and will not use anything else. I also love the MAC Hello Kitty lashes, but those were a limited edition product and more expensive than the Ardell version. I also applied my fake beauty mark to the side of my eye, directly in line with the tip of my eyebrow.
To polish off my eye look, I applied Benefit Cosmetics Mr. Frosty shimmering white eye pencil to the waterline (bottom inner rim) of my eye as well as under my lash line. You can use any type of white eyeliner for this look, I also recommend the Paladio’s white pencil which you can find at CVS pharmacy and Long’s Drugs. Click here for more info. I also applied a very thin and precise coat of mascara to my bottom lashes.
Next, I used a bit of MAC Frankly Scarlette matte blush, which is a vivid red rose, more on the pink side. I used a very light application since this blush is heavily pigmented.
The lips are the second hardest part of this tutorial. It took me a while to get the liner just right. I am not used to wearing lip liner, so it was a bit tricky at first. I used two different shades of lipliner because I wanted the darker outline. I used Benefit Cosmetics Gypsy lip liner as the darker outline color (which for some idiotic reason is discontinued) which is a darker brick red / brown shade, and Elizabeth Arden Red 01 lip pencil as the brighter inner shading color.
For the finishing touches, I applied the infamous MAC Russian Red Tinted Lipglass.
I did not bother doing my hair since I spent all day dying and toning it (with an amazing hair dye that I will review soon) so here is just the finished face for you:
Did I miss anything?? I am exhausted. Two tutorials in one day!?!? Ughh. My camera is dead, I am dead. I can’t do another tutorial until I find that damned power cord. =( Love you guys, hope you enjoyed this. Happy Halloween!
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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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While I am still pooing my pants about the previous blog’s Gucci sunglasses.. I decided to post a little bit about what I am using and loving right now that are NOT designer or fancy brands.
I really, really do regret not writing down what I used here because I have the slightest idea.. ugh. I can remember a few things!
Let’s start off with my new cleanser. I was using the Dr. Perricone Anti-Aging face wash that was costing me $40 per month. I was pretty sick of spending that much on just a gel cleanser, so I found this little gem that is actually working much better that Dr. What’s His Face:
This is a 6 oz. product called Basis Cleaner Clean Face Wash. With ingredients such as gentle botanicals, such as mint, lemongrass, and chamomile, you can’t go wrong at $5.49!!! I haven’t turned back to anything else since using this cleanser. It smells great, feels really refreshing, and takes off ALL of my makeup without a trace left behind. This is an oil-free and soap free cleanser. I absolutely love it.
I was also becoming a little broke thanks to the slew of $40 foundations I purchased at Sephora, with none of them being that impressive. I heard something on TV about Sharon Osbourne using Boots brand products, and I did see the line of products featured at Target, so I had to give it a try! I only purchased the 1 oz. jar of Boots No7 Intelligent Balance Mousse Foundation in Almond for $13.99.
The foundation comes with a clear scooper stick type thing and I use it to apply the makeup. This is going to sound weird but I use the “spatula” to fill in my pores like you would if you were filling a hole in the wall. I am not even sure if you are supposed to do that, but it’s working for me! This foundation is the best thing I’ve found since the old Revlon Colorstay foundation (original formula). I am so happy with it that I pray it will not be discontinued. The foundation doubles as a mattifier, pore reducer and long-wear foundation. As you can see in the pictures, it does a pretty good job at covering imperfections such as freckles and an uneven skintone. The almond color was a bit dark for me, so I lightened it up with my Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Fresh Powder Makeup SPF 10 in Ivory.
I started working on my eyes next:
I drew a fat line of Benefit Cosmetics High Brow under my eyebrow and blended it to create that bright highlight. I then filled in my brows with whatever MAC matte brown eye shadow I had around and of course sealed them with my Irene Gari sealer, which seals more than just lipstick. I put on a nice coat of Urban Decay Primer Potion , put on my medical tape (see method here) and started patting the matte blue shadow on with a flat, natural hair eyeshadow brush. The eyeshadow color was from my Coastal Scents 88 color eyeshadow palette. (They are on sale right now for $18.95!) The color I used is in the second to last row from the bottom, 5th one over, right above that cobalt blue color.
For the crease, I carefully brushed on with a MAC pencil brush , a black matte shadow from MAC.. I really can’t remember which one at this point, but it was most likely “Carbon”. I then took my MAC tapered blending brush, and blended on some MAC Sketch (a dark burgundy brown) eyeshadow to blend the black in better.
I then used my favorite liner, Maybelline Line Works Ultra Ultra-Liner Liquid, which dries shiny. I used one coat of Maybelline Lash Stylist and my NEW favorite outer corner lashes, Ardell Accent Lashes, Black #305. These lashes are AMAZING for the price of $3.49. WOW. I love these and have worn them over 5 times without ruining them.
On my lower lash line, I used Urban Decay 24/7 gel pencil liner in Electric. I smudged a bit of the MAC matte black shadow and Sketch together right underneath my lash line using that MAC pencil brush I mentioned earlier. I threw on one coat of Maybelline Lash Stylist.
For the cheeks, I think I used a Bare Escentuals mineral blush, but I can’t be too certain of which shade it was. I have really, really old blush that I still use from there and it’s most likely discontinued. I did use my compact Sugar Bronzer, which I have also had for quite a while. I only see the loose powder version of it on Sephora and have never tried it.
I hate to say this again.. I have NO clue as to what lipstick and gloss I am wearing. Not a clue. Although it does look like MAC’s limited edition lipstick Naturally Eccentric ( from years ago ) , which was a white nude color. I may have dug that one up and used it with a clear gloss.
So now that you know what new products I’ve been loving.. I have a NEW shipment coming this week. I normally try things for about a month before posting a review because I want to give the product a chance to suck or to be awesome. Here is what is coming in the mail:
Keep this blog bookmarked to hear what I have to say about those products!!!!
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My party girl days are over, but bloodshot Sunday morning eyes still seem to follow me. I have to go shopping for work clothes today, and I need to look cute when I shop for clothes. I hate dressing rooms, I hate trying on jeans, and if my hair and makeup look cute, it helps put me in a better mood when subjecting myself to torture like trying on tight pants under harsh artificial lighting.
I decided to bust out my trusty Palladio white eyeliner that I purchased at Long’s drugs quite a while ago for $3. (Click here to learn more about Palladio’s products) I really love using white pencils on the inner rims of my eyes, inner corners or draw underneath my brow to create a highlight.
I used Urban Decay Primer Potion to prep my eyes for the shadow, Paul & Joe #37 pink blush on my eyes as an eyeshadow color, MAC Sketch eyeshadow on the outer corners of my eyes and as a liner underneath the white line on the bottom eye area, MAC Scant eyeshadow under my eyebrow, and Maybelline Stiletto mascara formula with the Maybelline Lash Stylist comb brush.
My face is a bit oily here, but I get oily when I am tired for some reason. I used the Paul & Joe #37 pink blush on my cheeks, and the lips are MAC Portside lip liner and MAC Pink Poodle lip gloss.
Wish me luck finding clothes!!! Try the white eyeliner!
On my recent trip to the Torrid women’s clothing store at my local mall, I saw a collection of Medusa’s Makeup brand sitting in a bowl on the counter. I picked up the Medusa’s Makeup Neon Pink Glitter without hesitation because it was glowing and calling my name! Take a look at the pic below to see the amazingness:
A lot of you may be thinking how the heck to put a loose glitter shadow on your eyes and make it stick. I’ve had previous tutorials on glitter eye makeup, and I thought I would do one more because this stuff is pretty neat.
The tricky part is not getting the glitter all over your sink, clothes and face. Make sure you have some medical tape handy to clean up the mess off your face and regular masking tape works good on clothing and counter tops, floors, etc. Before you read the rest of this tutorial, I suggest you familiarize yourself with my medical tape method tutorial, which also includes a bit of information about applying glitter to the eyes: Lazy Gaga Glitter Tutorial with Medical Tape
Starting with an application of a light, depuffing eye cream (I used Benefit’s Eyecon) on the top lid of my eye as well as on my under eye area. I used the Sephora brand lipstick sealer called “Lip Last” as a mixing medium with the glitter. There are a million things out there you can use as a mixing medium such as eye lash glue (clear or white) and a number of makeup sealants on the market. I actually thought that the Sephora “Lip Last” worked best this time around for me and I think I will stick with this medium for a while. It doesn’t feel stiff or sticky at all and dried quickly.
I dropped a few drops of my mixing medium on the back of my hand along with a few shakes of the glitter. I used a synthetic concealer brush to pick the product up with and applied it in a patting motion to my eyes.. quickly. I also applied dry glitter to the top of what I applied wet to fill in all of the gaps. You are going to experience glitter falling on your face, which is fine. You may apply your medical tape below your eye before you apply the glitter or use it to pick the glitter off of your face.
After the glitter is dry and looking good, you may add a contour color or leave it as-is. You could actually apply your crease contour color before you apply the glitter, but I decided to do it all backwards. I dunno! I used MAC Carbon eyeshadow with a pointed pencil brush, WITH the medical tape in place:
Pardon my bloodshot eyes, I went to bed at 6 am! I’ve been quite an insomniac lately, but it’s summertime and I get really restless.
I applied.. very carefully.. Maybelline Ultra Liquid Liner in Waterproof. You may wait til the product dries and then apply a matte black eyeshadow, like MAC Carbon, over the top to smooth out the gaps that happen when the liner skips over the glitter – use a stiff angled brush. I applied one coat of Maybelline Lash Stylist mascara (discontinued) on top and bottom.
The finished product! I thought a nice purple – plum lip would be cute with the shadow. I could have gone the route of matching my lips to my eyes, but I wanted the shadow to stand out!
Foundation: Mixed Fresh Umbrian Clay foundation with Jane Iredale Liquid Mineral Foundation. Diorskin loose mineral powder applied on top with flocked sponge applicator (applies a thicker coat as opposed to using a brush).
Blush: Paul & Joe #37 blush (bright frosty pink) with a very light application of MAC Frankly Scarlet matte blush.
Lips: MAC Sweetbrown Cremestick lip liner , MAC Violetta lipstick , Smashbox Pout lip gloss, which is a milky white pink lipgloss that mutes the vibrancy of the Violetta lipstick.
Lazy Gaga, you say? Well, I didn’t get up til noon today and I am tired.. but I still did a tutorial based on Lady Gaga’s makeup style. I am not a fan of her music, and I am not buying into her persona, but a lot of people have inquired about her makeup style, and a lot of people have asked me how to apply loose glitter on the eyes. I figured I’d kill two birds with one lipgloss.
Since I am lazy today, I am not really going to post AGAIN how to put on foundation. I have posted it in other tutorials (see Tutorials on the bottom left menu) and you can check those for reference.
I put two drops of Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals foundatin and two drops of Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse foundation on my 180 MAC flat top foundation brush. I buffed the foundation on and applied a light layer of Diorskin Mineral powder with my Bare Escentuals Handy Buki brush. I then applied a heavy layer of MAC shimmer bronzer to the length of my cheek bone, and a light layer on the sides of my nose to create a slimming effect.
I really wanted to create a brightening effect around the eyes, so I grabbed my MAC Select Cover-up in pink and my Benefit Cosmetics synthetic foundation brush. I use a brush big enough to cover the whole eye area and underneath the eye.
I applied MAC Showstopper on my brows, which really won’t be seen since my bangs will be covering them. I applied MAC Select Cover-up to the whole eye area, and below the eye down into the cheek area. If you get a little bit of the concealer over your bronzer, you can wait til it dries and apply a more bronzer.
I bought some craft glitter on ebay from a seller in London. I originally purchased this set for use with gel nails, which you will see pictures of the stars in my nails later on in this tutorial. I nearly had to arm wrestle the “nail technician” in order to have this done. It’s not like it was difficult!!
I chose the light lavender glitter for this tutorial. You can probably find glitter like this at Michael’s craft store, it’s very fine and not too chunky. There are several ways to get loose glitter to stick to your eye. I’ve heard of people using mixing mediums by theatrical makeup brands, and those might work well, but I’ve been to MAC master classes before and the makeup artist there used eyelash glue to apply most of his sequins, lace and other craft-type objects to the eye or around the eye. Since we know eyelash glue is safe to use around the eye, I always use it to apply glitter.
Since I sell Mark. Cosmetics, I’ve had the pleasure of trying the brushes. LOVE THEM. I love the mini concealer brush. See the logo above?? Click that link to go to the Mark. website and write in the search box “Concealer Brush” and get that brush!! It’s only $6, but it works really well for applying concealer and especially good for applying the glitter. (SEE MY AWESOME NAILS??)
To apply the glitter: I put a dab of the eyelash glue on the back of my hand, dumped out a little pile of the glitter next to it and blended it together with the concealer brush. I applied VERY thin layers of the glitter glue mixture to the bottom lid only and dried my eyelids with a cool hair dryer in between each layer with my EYES CLOSED while lifting my eyebrows up to stretch the skin. You should only need about two or three layers. Your eyes should feel stiff, and a little uncomfortable at this point. Eventually you will get used to the feeling.
Another cool brush that I just purchased at Nordstrom is the NARS angled eyeshadow brush. I had to mail order it since they were sold out. This is a high quality natural brush which is perfect for getting that angled edge on your crease.
I applied the medical tape to the side of my eye, just like in the Medical Tape Tutorial. Angling the NARS brush with the longer side of the bristles pointing downward, I dabbed MAC Sketch eyeshadow in the crease and in a windshield wiper motion, went back and forth, blending the crease in.
For under the under brow highlight, I used a limited edition Benefit Cosmetics Merengue Show-Off Loose Eyeshadow that was from a holiday kit. This shadow is extremely hard to find and it is not like the original Merengue eyeshadow that Benefit sold for years. This shadow is a crystal white shimmery shadow, you might be able to find a MAC Pigment or Bare Escentuals shadow similar to this.
I applied the loose eyeshadow WET under my brow to get the maximum pigment intensity.
I peeled the tape off … but I felt like I needed more..
I applied Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner and extended it out and up like shown in the picture.
It can be quite difficult to apply eyeliner over the glitter since it creates a hard texture. I think liquid eyeliner works pretty good over glitter, but I was too lazy to look for it, so I used what I found, which was the gel liner. I applied MAC Carbon eyeshadow over the top of the liner to give it a more blended look. If you screw up, you can use a q-tip to reshape the edge of your liner.
I am going a little faster here, sorry if I am confusing anyone. I applied the gel liner to the inner rims and applied two coats of Maybelline Lash Stylist to the top and bottom lashes. I concentrated on the bottom lashes this time. I did not choose to use false lashes, too tired at this point, but you can if you want to!
I used MAC Pro Pinkie pencil, which is a matte neon pink lip and eye pencil, on my lips and I drew a line under my eye area right below my inner rim.
I applied one of my favorite all-time lipsticks, YSL Rouge Pur Lipstick #22, over the top of the MAC lipliner. This color is perfect for that pale mod lip look.
After I applied the YSL lipstick, I felt like I needed some gloss. I grabbed my neon pink MAC Lip Varnish in Polish Me Pink.
I used MAC Pigment in Cool Pink, which is a really nice matte color, to my cheeks. I use this very sparingly since it is heavily pigmented.
No tutorial would be complete with out an artistic photo ending!
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Let me start first off by saying that I had been using this cloth medical tape method for several years when applying eyeshadow, I had forgotten about it, then I saw a few You Tube makeup tutorials where tape was used, but it was the gift wrapping kind, not the kind that is meant for your skin. I don’t know what kind of chemicals or toxins are in scotch tape (there may not be any, who knows) but I am not using scotch tape on my face. Cloth medical tape is gentle and meant to be put on your skin, it’s very easy to take off. This tape method not only creates a clean look, but it helps the blending process go a little faster and easier. It is SUPER fun to do, too!
I like the Nexcare Gentle Paper tape by 3M. It’s safe for sensitive skin, which is good, because we are using it near our eyes.
I couldn’t find my mixing medium (Makeup Forever brand) so I thought I’d try something a little stronger, which is Sephora brand’s Lip Last fixative (no longer available). I originally bought it to seal in my eyebrows, but it didn’t do a good job like my favorite Irene Gari Lipstick Sealer at #3.50, which works just as good as Benefit Cosmetics $30 She-Laq sealer.
To apply the medical tape, I placed it from the outer corner of my eye, to the end of my eyebrow (see pic below). I pressed it down gently with my finger.
I dropped a couple drops of the sealer on the back of my hand and mixed a little bit of the MAC Pure White pigment with it. It should be creamy and not runny or lumpy. I used a flat, round, synthetic concealer brush to apply the wet mixture to my entire eye area. It’s okay to get the mixture on the tape, it’s waterproof and the wet mixture will not seep through.
The white matte pigment creates a really nice base for creating dramatic looks with bright colors. It also serves as a highligher color for under the eyebrow.
The brush I used to apply the MAC Basic Red pigment is the Bare Escentuals flathead shadow brush.
I carefully dipped the brush into the pigment and patted it down on the inside of the pigment’s lid to take off the excess. I patted the color with the brush at a horizontal angle and worked my way around the crease a few times until the color was packed into the crease.
It doesn’t matter if it’s perfect right now, you are going to blend it next. Using a few more brushes.
I started blending with the MAC 225 Big Fluff brush first, in a circular motion, then back and forth, until it looked blended in. I used the MAC 224 for the final blending. Make sure you do blend right over the medical tape to make sure the shadow colors reach the edge.
I cleaned off my synthetic concealer brush that I used to apply the white pigment and wet it again to use with the MAC Burnt Burgundy pigment. I then patted that color down on the lid, not going over the crease, but going over the tape to make sure the shadow color reached the edge.
I really love Trucco Cosmetics Moonshade Matte black eyeshadow. I used the MAC pencil brush to apply the color to the outer edge and across into the crease.
I used my MAC 224 brush to blend the black shadow into my crease. Once you are satisfied with your blending, it’s time to rip off the tape!! This part is so fun!
See the clean line from the corner of the eye to the brow? No mess and it was easy!
I wanted to do a fun eye liner look using my Bobbi Brown gel liner in Black Ink. I winged the corners out under the line that was created with the medical tape, and after I lined my waterline with the gel, I continued to wing that edge out a bit.
I was looking for a soft, bright burgundy color to compliment the look, and I found a shadow that is probably discontinued from Biotherm. I applied that shadow color under my waterline area with the flat-head shadow brush that still had left-over red pigment on it. I applied two coats of Maybelline Lash Stylist.
Now that the eyes are done (whew! that took a while) I am ready for highlighter and blush. I really love the Milani brand blushes. I found that the brand is now sold in Target stores, so please do buy whatever you like from Milani, everything I’ve tried so far has been really good, especially the eyeshadows and blushes.
I applied Wet N’ Wild highlighting powder above my cheeks, on my forehead and dabbed it very lightly all over. I then applied a generous amount of the Milani Pink Craze blush to the apples of my cheeks.
I applied the Urban Decay 24/7 lip liner in “Naked” and blended with my finger. I applied the vibrant MAC Pro lipstick in Violetta, and a nice creamy coat of Smashbox “Pout” lip gloss to top it all off.
I got a little artsy fartsy and took a MAC Cosmetics style photo of myself. I LOVE the way my lashes turned out! I wanted to celebrate the cutting of my own bangs. I used the “twist and cut” method, which worked pretty good. I found the method on one of those Wiki-How pages.. scary, but it turned out! Hope you guys enjoyed this, I know I did!
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