Details Details Details…

Hi Ladies!

I received some really positive feedback on my last post about my “bad day” makeup so I wanted to list some of the products used and also tell you guys the steps I took in order to achieve this look because it’s honestly so simple and you can spice it up very easily! 

EYES:

• Base/Primer: MAC Paint Pot in Painterly applied with a concealer brush and blended out with my finger (I put this from my lash line up to my brow bone because I have product on my brow bone later on) 
• Setting Powder for Eyes: I personally like to set the paint pot with a cream shadow one that matches my skin tone because I find that it makes it easier to blend out my crease colors but this set isn’t necessary. I applied this with a domed shadow brush from Real Techniques and used a MAC Skin Finish in Light (you can use these powders for multiple things, not just to set your skin).
• Crease Color#1: I then went in with my first crease color which is Cocoa Bear from Make Up Geek, I personally love this shade but you should swatch it out before you commit to it all over your crease. If you find this color is too orange for you then use a light shade of brown like Brown Script from Mac which has a slightly orange undertone but it is more brown so you might feel more comfortable if you aren’t yet used to shades like Cocoa Bear. I applied Cocoa Bear into my crease with a MAC 217 brush, I started with a very light layer and then started to build up but I always focused the product into the outer edge of my eye and then swept whatever was left onto the brush further into my eye. 
• Liner: I started with Maybelline Gel Liner in Black I used a MAC eyeliner brush that is now discontinued but I recently found out that the MAC 226 Small Angle Brush is an exact replica for the original one so if you are on the hunt for a new liner brush definitely try this one out. I personally love this one because it does all the work for you, it creates a really nice tapered edge at the edge of the wing and because it is small it is so easy to be precise. I just started with small strokes from my inner corner to outer and then I put the brush tip on the edge of my eye facing up from my brow bone and draw the wing then I connect it back to the rest of the liner…Sounds confusing but you just need to practice some wing sizes and lengths to figure out which one works for your eye shape the best. 
• Inner Liner: This part I’m still struggling with my I took some extra gel liner onto my brush (barely any) and drew the point in my inner tear duct area… I don’t have a lot of advice on this yet because it was my first time doing it and I definitely need some more practice with this style liner. 
• Crease#2: I took MAC eye shadow in Embark and used the MAC 217 to apply this right above the outer wing of my liner to darken up the crease. 
• Lashes: I slightly curled my top lashes and applied Miss Manga Waterproof Mascara in Black to my top lash line (I did two coats) then I applied Ardell Lashes in 109 (perfect dupe for House of Lashes Iconic) and used Duo lash glue in black. I wait about 40 seconds to apply my lashes to really let the glue start to dry then I take tweezers with a longer handle and start by adhering them to the center of my lashes and then adhere them to the back and front of my lashes. Then I hold them down with my finger and they should be completely dry and held to your lashes. 
• Bottom Lash Line: (I did this after my foundation). I started with a definer brush and packed on embark from back really close to my lower lash line from inner to outer corner then I took a pencil brush with Cocoa Bear lightly on it and blended from inner to outer corner really well so that my eyes just had a smokey bottom lash line.
• Liner: Then I went in with L’Oreal eye liner kohl in dark brown (amazing drugstore liner) and applied this to my inner lower lash line and also tight lined my upper lash line. 
• Mascara: I finished off the bottom lash line with the same Miss Manga Waterproof Mascara in Black.

FACE: 

• Base: I started with a base about 30 minutes before after I washed my face which was Philosophy Hope In A Jar For Dry Skin.
• Foundation: Once my face was done I went in with Makeup Forever HD Foundation, I applied some Jose Maran Illuminator to the foundation on the back of my hand and then pressed it into my skin with a beauty blender.
• Concealer: I used IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Circles Concealer and blended this in with a beauty blender. 
• Setting Powders: I used MAC Skin Finish in Light to set my under eyes and Ben Nye Powder in Buff for the rest of my face. 
• Contour: I went in with Anastasia Contour Kit using the lightest shade to bronze and then used Benefit Hoola Bronzer to lightly contour my face with a MAC 209 for both products.
• Blush: Then I went in with a coral shade from Ben Nye blush palette and applied this very lightly to the apples of my cheeks with a Real Techniques Multi-Task Brush. 
• Eyebrows: I used Anastasia Dip Brown in Auburn and set it with Anastasia Clear Brow Gel. 

On The Bad Days…

Hi Ladies! 

So have you ever had one of those days when you look in the mirror and it seems like every part of your makeup looks pretty terrible? Yesterday my skin was so patchy, my eye shadow was not blended well, and my lashes looked tiny. Needless to say, when you have one of these days all you want to do is run home and wash off all your makeup and crawl into bed but sadly that is not always an option. So when I got off work early I headed over to CVS to pick up some new face wash (I knew I was going to need something more than what I was using lol) and some gel liner. I decided in the CVS makeup aisle that when I got home I was going to try a look solely based on gel liner because honesty, liner in general terrifies me. I’ve always loved the way it looks on me but for a perfectionist like myself when your two wings don’t match up you might as well not wear makeup. SOOO when I got home I went to work with some Maybelline Gel Liner, a Mac liner brush, and some good crease colors and this is the look I cam up with. I actually really loved it! Sometimes when you do a bold liner your eyes can look kind of funny but with the crease color (it’s just a red brown color) it really made my eyes stand out and made them look so much bigger! I knew I wanted to do something interesting to I took the liner into my inner corners which for the first few hours I really enjoyed but after a while it seemed to bleed and look like a mess so I wiped it off before the night ended. If you guys have any ideas on how to make that not happen please let me know! I was thinking that if I set the inner corner with black eye shadow also it would keep it in place, but that just seems like it could get messy really quickly. I finished the look off with some dramatic Ardell lashes which are my current fave and a serious dupe for the House of Lashes Iconic ones. 

If you guys would like to see a step by step of how I got this look just comment below and I would be glad to, also let me know what you think about the liner in the inner corner!

XOXO

The War Of Highlighters…

Hi Ladies! 

Sorry I have been MIA for a while, I was busy with my family these past few weeks but now I am back with a few great products that I have had the time to test these past weeks. One of the hardest things to find is a good highlighter one that will not wash you out, one that is not to strong, and one that just emphasizes your best features. So many people have the belief that you need to purchase a tiny tube of pink or yellow product at ridiculous prices but I have found a great alternative for all of you with a pink undertone to your skin. 

WHY IS HIGHLIGHTING SO IMPORTANT: 

• Highlighting will basically illuminate the best areas of your face. If you start to choose the right shade to highlight with (either a pink, yellow, or salmon) your skin will look healthy, your eyes will look awake, and the overall appearance of your face will become more youthful. It’s just as important to match a highlighting pen to your undertone as it is to match your foundation to your skin. Finding your undertone is easy, one of the most simple ways is to look at the veins in  your arm  and if you have blue veins you are cool (red & pink) but if you have greenish veins then you are warm (yellow). If you also just Google how to find your undertone there a million of tests you could take at home to see your true undertone. Highlighting in this sense is not using a shimmery powder or illuminater, it is using some kind of product with no shimmer to put on either over your concealer and foundation or used solely as your concealer. While I give you two great options of highlighters it is important that you go to the drugstore or beauty store and test some out for yourself, mine are simply suggestions but everyone may not like them the way I do. 

 

MAC Radiant Rose: 

• If you shop at MAC then you know about two of their most popular products, their highlighting pens. There are actually three pens but everyone seems to gravitate towards either the yellow shade or the pink shade (there is a salmon shade but I would recommend that to people who have extremely dark skin tones). I chose the Radiant Rose shade because I have more of a pink undertone but in reality I am just very neutral in my skin tone, I chose pink most of the time those because I like the way it makes my under eye look. I really enjoyed this product, it is currently my second tube of it and honestly it lasts me for about 4-5 weeks when I am using it everyday either as a light highlight or a full face look. This product can be used on top of your makeup or you can put it underneath as a primer to add brightness from within to your makeup. I like to do my foundation and concealer, then I take the pen put a triangle under my eyes all the way to my hairline (you always want to continue your concealer and highlight to your hairline because it is like a mini face lift) then I add a triangle in the middle of my forehead and drag it down my nose half way, then I add a line on my cupids bow and a triangle on my chin… Depending on how you feel about your face you can alter this, I like to highlight these areas but if you feel that you have a large forehead then skip putting it on your forehead and so on for the rest of your skin. This product did not crease, and my concealer settled well with it. For $25 though, I felt that I could find a more affordable product to use everyday and a product that would provide me with the same results. 

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser:

•  I started using the normal concealer version of this product a few months back (this is a highlighting product but they have concealers also) and I really liked the concealer it was comparable to MAC Pro Long Wear but honestly I liked the way the Maybelline one sat on my skin. When I went to purchase more concealer I found this new product and I do not think that I could tell you enough good things about this product. You twist the product up from the bottom and it comes up into this puff ball and then you drag that onto the areas you want to highlight (don’t love that idea, but you could simply take the puff ball off and apply the product to the back of your hand). This product blends in like a dream, it has no shimmer and mixes well with all kinds of concealers and thick concealers. It was so simple to use this product and I felt like I had a steal because of the price I paid for this but I enjoyed it more than the MAC pen. The color is a bit darker but that’s just because I got the wrong shade but they have a wide variety of pink shades and also yellow shades. For $8 it seems crazy that I would ever pay for the MAC product again because Maybelline not only provides you with a great drugstore product but also one that beats a high end highlighter. If you just want to experiment or use some different shades I would say purchase this product, also if you want to stop paying almost $30 every few weeks then please check out these highlighters, their amazing. 

XOXO

Here you can see the MAC pen on the left and the Maybelline on the right.