Mascara Saver!

Quick tip today about how to make your mascara last longer.  I have a boatload of MAC products coming home with me tomorrow (yay!!!!), so tonight will be super quick!

After a couple months of use mascara just doesn't apply like it did when you first got it.  Maybe the color isn't as dark or shiny, or the mascara starts clumping.  Well, there is a very quick and easy fix for that with something most people have in their beauty kit already!  Contact Solution!  Just add a few drops of a saline solution like Opti Free to your mascara, twist the cap back on and gently shake it up.  When you pull the wand back out it will be like new again!  I learned this trick a few months ago and I have used it a few times on my mascara and it really helps a lot!  I got about two extra months out of my last mascara from this trick.  Just be careful to use a saline solution and not a deep cleaning solution that has peroxide in it.  The peroxide will burn your eyes like crazy and then you just wasted the past 30min-1hr putting on all your makeup because it will come right off.  (I learned this the hard way one evening when I took my contacts out briefly after work to shower, and then put them back in after only 30min or so of soaking in the solution and I couldn't wear my contacts for two days and my eyes burned for hours and were red for days)

Also, when your mascara does run out, save the wands.  You can ditch the bottle, but the wands are useful for other things like exfoliating your lips, adding color to your brows, or running hair spray through your brows to keep them in place all day.

I hope this was helpful! And, as always, leave comments about this post, or anything you would like me to post in the future :)

"Beauty is being the best possible version of yourself, inside and out."--Unknown

Thanksgiving Look

 I started by covering my lid, up to my brow bone with my MAC paintpot in Painterly.  I then dusted Simply Innocent (Costco) eye shadow all over the lid and up to the brow bone.

 Next I patted In the Buff (Bare Minerals) shadow all over the lid.

 With a fluffy brush I blended Swiss Chocolate (MAC) into the outer corner and in the crease.  This can be messy, because we are going to blend more colors into it.

 Finally, I used a smaller blending brush and blended Intuition (Bare Minerals) into the outer corner.  I was careful to not go up to high and made sure the Swiss Chocolate went up higher than the Intuition.

 I added a little extra Simply Innocent to the brow bone and I lined the upper and lower lash line with a black MAC gel liner and a slanted liner brush.

 I finished the look with Haught & Naughty Too Black Lash mascara (MAC).  This is probably my all time favorite mascara.  I love that it has two brushes, a big one to get the top lashes, and then a smaller one to get into the corners, the tips of the lashes for length, and the bottom lashes.

Here's the final look!

I topped off the look with my Palladio foundation, Too Faced bronzer, and Bare Minerals blush.  I used Smashbox longwear lipgloss in 24/7.  I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving, and a great rest of your holiday weekend!

The Best Winter Lip Remedy

Ok, so I told you that working with professional makeup artists had its perks.  Well I just learned one of the best beauty tips I have heard in a long time...maybe ever.  If you are anything like me then you get super dry lips in the winter.  I feel like I moisturize and moisturize and nothing is helping.  I love my MAC lipsticks, but they would always dry my lips out (especially the mattes) and after about 30min of wear time, my lips looked all cracked and dry and the color was all creased and nasty.  Even upon first application I found that my lipstick wasn't going on even because of all the dead skin.  I tried exfoliating with my Modern Friction (Origins), and it helped a little, but it didn't get everything and it tasted awful in my mouth.  So I asked around and found a couple awesome tips.

Tip #1: Exfoliate with a moisturizer and a mascara tester wand.  Yes, you read that right, a mascara tester wand.  The bristles are the perfect mixture of hard and flexible to really scrub that dead skin off, and using a like moisturizer (or eye cream) will re-hydrate your lips!  P.S. apply the moisturizer pretty heavily so that you don't tear up the good skin on your lips.

Mascara Tester Wand

Origins Lip Remedy

Ok, so now you're probably like, why the hell is this girl telling me to put eye cream on my lips.  Well, you have three different types of skin, the gentle, sensitive skin on your face and neck, the tough, durable skin covering your torso and limbs, and then the very fragile skin around your eyes.  Well the skin around your lips is the same as the skin around your eyes, so moisturizing your lips with an eye cream will be much more effective.

Tip #2: When in doubt, tap some powder on first.  If you are out in public, or in a rush and you don't have time to exfoliate your lips (even though it takes less than a minute) pat some powder on your lips to make your lipstick stick, and glide over your lips more evenly.  I am honestly not 100% sure why this works, but it does, and it's great in a pinch.  However, if you have the chance/time to exfoliate then that works 10 times better.

I hope this was helpful!  Have a very Happy Thanksgiving, and be safe shopping on Black Friday! I'll be working at my Origins counter at 5am.

The Products Tab

So, I am currently in the process of swatching all of my eye shadows so I can put them up under the products tab for you.  It's going to be a lengthy process, not because I have that many (because I don't), but because I have to photograph each shadow, and then the swatch of it and keep everything straight and I am insanely busy at the moment.  I am hoping that since I have the day off Wednesday and Thursday because of Thanksgiving that I can get a lot of that done.  I also need to take my computer to the apple store because my iPhoto isn't working :/  I was going to try to find all the swatches on Google, but that was proving to be harder than I expected, and I wanted to make sure all of the swatches were done in the same (or similar) lighting, with the same camera, and on the same skin tone so that you could get a really good idea of what the products really look like.

I hope this will be helpful!  I have a lot of new MAC products coming the week after Thanksgiving, so I am very excited to get those swatched for you as well!  Also, I can't wait to play with them! I got a couple of their holiday kits, one of the pigments, and two of the lip kits (One might be a gift), and some new blushes so I am insanely excited!  I haven't bought a new blush in years (probably 5-6), it's terribly sad, I think I have been living in a box.

I'm hoping to do another post soon on brushes...the ones I have and the must have brushes in a kit and I hope to give you a few different options from different brands/different prices.

"Beauty is being the best possible version of yourself, inside and out"--Unknown

Beauty Haul

So, I have gone on a bit of a beauty haul the past couple days; not that I have money to be doing this with Christmas quickly approaching.  However, it all started yesterday when I realized that I don't even own a proper concealer.  I have been using my M.A.C. paint pot in painterly for all my concealing needs.  Paint pots are meant to be used as eye shadows and primers, and not concealers.  I started using it as a concealer under my eyes to cover up dark circles, but recently I have been finding that it has really been settling into those fine lines in the under eye area, and it's not a pretty sight.  So I took a trip to Ulta yesterday, (against my better judgement because I usually have terrible customer service there) I had done some research and I had a list all ready of the products I wanted to try.  I brought home four different concealers:

Maybelline Cover Stick Corrective Concealer $4.79

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser in Brightener $7.19

NYX HD Photogenic Concealer in Yellow $4.99

Rimmel Hide the Blemish in Soft Honey $4.19

Ulta Beauty Blender $4.99

So I haven't had the chance to really try all of these yet, but so far I am really liking them.  I used the two Maybelline products this morning and so far I'm happy.  The Dark Circle Eraser may be my new favorite product.  This is probably the first time in my entire life that I don't have dark circles under my eyes, its incredible.  I am not completely sold on the green corrective concealer yet.  Green is the opposite of red, so it should hide any redness in your skin.  I will try it out for a few more days and let you know.  I have also used the beauty blender to blend in the concealers; it worked well, but I'm not sure what all the fuss is about them.  I was really pleased with the service I got at this Ulta.  It is a pretty new store, I think it has only been open for a month or so now, and the woman who helped me was the store manager, and also a makeup artist and invited me back to pick her brain about makeup for the blog, so expect that coming soon!

Then I made another trip to Ulta today after I discovered that I had forgotten my entire makeup kit at my apartment and I am staying at Tad's for the weekend.  I had been meaning to pick up some new products to try anyways, but it was a little earlier timing that I expected.  I picked up a couple different foundations: Palladio Herbal Foundation in Nude and Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse in Light.  I got a cleanser/mask called Philosophy Total Matteness, some new Japonesque brush cleaner, a Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings kit, and finally some OPI nail polish: a top coat, a matte top coat, and You Don't Know Jacques!  A lot, I know, and I spent way more than I intended, but so far I am really liking everything I have gotten.

I haven't had the chance to try the Maybelline foundation yet, but the Palladio foundation exceded my expectations.  It was more of a medium-full coverage foundation which I was not expecting, and it stayed on all day long.  And I mean, ALL day, I wore it to work, and then out to dinner and a 10:20 movie and when I got home after 1am it still looked great.  I did use a primer from the Too Faced kit underneath it; I have never used a face primer before, and since they were both new products I will have to try them individually again and see how the foundation holds up.  The Palladio foundation did feel a little tacky on my skin, even after I set it with powder.  I wasn't sure how my bronzer/blush would go on on top of it because of that, but they went on smoothly.  Its definitely not a foundation I personally would wear every day because I personally prefer a more light-medium coverage, but for work when I need to have perfect looking skin, or a date night it would be great.

Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse in Light $8.99

Palladio Herbal Foundation in Nude $9.99

The Too Faced kit is probably the best buy I have had.  It is by far one of my favorite makeup buys I have every had.  I haven't used Too Faced brand before, but when I was in the checkout line and saw they had a beauty blogger kit I knew I had to get it.  It came with Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer, Primed and Poreless Skin Smoothing Primer, Better Than Sex mascara, and Shadow Insurance eye shadow primer.  I used all of these products yesterday while getting ready and I LOVE them.  At first the primer I wasn't thrilled with, but then after I finished my makeup my pores looked nearly invisible.  The eye primer was incredible too...ten times better than M.A.C. paint pot.  While my paint pot gives better color payoff, after hours it does start to crease.  This primer had no creasing whatsoever.  Everything was exactly how I had put it that morning.  Next is the bronzer, OMG it is the bomb!  I have been using the same Bare Essentials bronzer since high school, while I like it, this Too Faced bronzer is incredible!  I opened the case and it smells sooooo good.  It has incredible color pay off, you only need a tiny bit, and it is a beautiful perfect shade to give warmth to the skin.  I really liked the mascara as well.  While I am still partial to my M.A.C. Haute and Naughty mascara, this is a great backup.

Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings $20

The last few items I got were the Philosophy Total Matteness cleanser/mask, the Japonesque brush cleaner, and the OPI nail polish.  I tried the mask yesterday morning, but I will have to use it for a few weeks before I see any true results, so far so good (I think it will be a pretty good dupe for the Origins Out of Trouble mask that is being discontinued).  The brush cleaner was great, but it is a spray for quick changes and I still think I need a shampoo for a deep clean.  OPI is OPI.  I love it, I own over 100 bottles (some good, some not so good).  It is usually the only polish that stays on for me.  I have even tried other brands like Essie and found it chipped pretty quick.  I'm pretty rough on my hands though, so my polish usually doesn't last too long.

Philosophy Total Matteness $25

Japonesque Brush Cleaner $12.50

OPI You Don't Know Jacques! $9
(at Ulta OPI is buy two, get a top or base coat free!)

I hope this is helpful!  I will get reviews up of the products I haven't used yet as soon as I get to try them out.  I hope this was helpful.  I am just trying to give you some pretty inexpensive options for makeup.  Let me know if this was helpful, and any other questions you may have!

**as always the photos are from Google**

Origins

Ok, so I work for Origins so I am going to be a little bias.  I love all the products, but I will keep it real with you and let you know when something isn't worth your money.  At first glance I thought the products were pretty expensive ($21 for a face wash, come on!). But after doing a little research at the other cosmo counters, honestly, Origins is pretty reasonably priced.  Let's be real, the Lancome counter is diagonally across from mine and their Absolue Premium BX cleanser, similar to our Checks and Balances, is $55.  (not to bash on Lancome because they make some awesome products, I'm just trying to put the prices in perspective)

One of the main reasons I love Origins is because they use all natural products.  Here is their purity commitment:

For me this is so important because I am allergic to propylene glycol.  Propylene glycol is a relatively small molecule, so in my case it can be absorbed into my blood and I have a systemic reaction, meaning my entire body reacts no matter where I put it.  This has resulted in many hospital visits and baffled doctors before we figured out what I was reacting too.  I didn't develop this allergy until I went to college, so it took a while to figure it out because I was in such a different environment.  Propylene glycol isn't necessarily a bad product, it just is a product that a lot of people tend to be allergic to. (ok my dog is snoring so loud and it is really distracting) Ok so here is a list of why propylene glycol is used in so many products:

• It is a very effective humectant (helps retain moisture)
• It is a solvent or carrier agent for fragrances and preservatives
• it can be use as an emulsifier or co-surfactant
• It is used as a solvent for pigments in cosmetics
• It can be used as a preservative due to its anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/curlchemist-the-truth-and-fiction-about-propylene-glycol

I also think it is more important to take care of your skin the right way, than to cover up the parts you don't like with make up.  I got asked at work today when I would be graduating high school.  Now I'm not sure why this lady thought a high school student would be working at noon on a weekday, but the fact that she (along with many others) think that I already look 3+ years younger than I am is a sign that I'm doing something right.  While it may be annoying to get carded at every bar and rated R movie I go to, in the long run it's worth it to know I am going to look like I'm 20 when I'm 40.

Ok so here's my daily skin care routine:
I use a couple different face washes, usually depends on if I'm in the shower or not.  The two cleansers I use are Origins Perfect World and Aveeno Clear Complexion Cream Cleanser.  The Origins face was restores minerals and amino acids back to the skin to detoxify and prevent aging.  I use the Aveeno face wash to help with break outs.

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I also use an exfoliator 2-3 times a week.  I use Origin's Modern Friction.  Modern Friction is a natural dermabrasion and has rice starch in it.  The dead skin cells stick to the rice starch so they come off more easily.  I demo this product on customers hands daily and everyone is amazed at the difference it makes.  It really is incredible.  It is hard to see it on your own face, but when you do it on one hand and then compare them, you can really see the difference it makes.  Origins also sells Modern Friction for the body.  I haven't personally tried it, but I have heard great things.

I know I am supposed to tone after I wash my face.  I know all the great benefits of toning, but I am broke and that is the one product that I have yet to buy.  A lot of my products I use I get from samples I get from the counter (and anyone can come and get free samples any time, no purchase necessary), and although we have liquids containers, it is such a small amount that it doesn't really make it worth it to take toner home.  Maybe the next time we get our extra discount after Christmas I will get some, but all this Christmas shopping is breaking the bank!

The next set of products I use are masks.  I use two different masks 2-3 times a week.  The two masks I use are Origins Clear Improvement and Out of Trouble.  However looking at the website to get the pictures it looks like Origins isn't carrying the Out of Trouble mask anymore which I am very upset about.  The Clear Improvement mask is a charcoal mask that detoxifies the skin.  Because it pulls out all of the impurities in the skin it can cause irritation and make you break out a bit.  That is the main reason why I started using it with the Out of Trouble mask.  I usually use the charcoal mask, then take a day off, then Out of Trouble, take a day off, then Out of Trouble again.  However with this new discovery that the Out of Trouble is no longer being sold, it looks like I will be coming up with a new mask routine.

(image from Google) 

Next is eyes!  The eyes are where most people start showing their first signs of aging.  Those crows feet and fine lines and wrinkles seem to start showing up sooner and sooner.  I use three different products on my eyes in the morning, all Origins of course.  The first product I use is Perfect World for Eyes.  It is a serum that blocks out 77% of the toxins in the environment that prematurely age the skin.  You always want to put on your serums before your moisturizers so that they can penetrate deep into your skin.  Next I use No Puffery, which is a cooling rollerball that helps depuff that under eye area.  It is important to use this before your moisturizer because since it is a rollerball it will only distribute onto dry skin.  If your skin is wet from the moisturizer it will just glide over that spot so that extra product isn't distributed.  Finally, I finish with the GinZing eye cream.  I love the GinZing eye cream, it is one of my absolute favorite products.  This eye cream has plants in it that help treat the dark under eye circles, and it also has a luminescent quality that not only brightens up the entire eye area, but conceals the dark circles.  I know this seems like a lot of product, but I only do this once a day, in the morning.

I only use one serum and one oil.  Now I know most of you are cringing right now because I said I put oil on my face.  I am a naturally oily person, as I have gotten older I have become less oily, but I am still oily in the T zone and normal to dry everywhere else.  So pretty much I have every skin type all rolled into one which can be a pain sometimes.  What this oil does is restore the moisture barrier in your skin, which depletes over time, so that your skin can absorb more moisture and not be so dry.  I just started using the Plantscription Oil.  I have only used it for a couple days, so I will keep you up on my opinion of it as time progresses, so far I really like what it has done to my skin.  I feel a more natural glow from my skin, and it is not making me any more oily.  The serum I use is the Perfect World skin guardian.  Like the eye serum, it blocks out 77% of the toxins in the environment that prematurely age your skin.  It also creates this sort of smoothing bubble over your face that kind of fills in any imperfections and makes your skin feel incredibly smooth.  This effect also makes your makeup go on so smoothly.

And last but not least, moisturizers.  Surprise, surprise, I use two.  I have a day and a night, however, the night cream I have been using is just a sample, and I haven't felt the need to use it as much since I have been using the oil.  I use the GinZing moisturizer in the morning, and morning and night in the spring and summer, but as soon as it starts getting colder I feel my cheeks drying out and I need something a little heavier at night.  The cream I have been using at night is the Make a Difference Plus +.  I use the treatment one which is meant for combination skin.  The Make a Difference Plus + moisturizers are a little confusing because there are three with the same name but one is a cream (dry skin), one is a treatment (combination) and one is a moisturizer (oily skin).  All three are meant to be super hydrating, because yes your skin can be oily and dehydrated.  However, since I have been using the oil, I have been able to use my GinZing moisturizer (one of the few products I actually bought) at night as well.  I love the GinZing moisturizer because it smells amazing, and it really wakes up and brightens up the skin and gives it that natural glow.

I know this is a LOT of information, but I really believe in all of this stuff.  I love that I can do all of this to my skin and know that I will have healthy, young skin for years to come and that I haven't put any harmful chemicals into my body or the environment.  I hope this was helpful, and let me know what you think and what you would like me to talk about next!






**disclaimer about all pictures on this blog**  Unless otherwise stated I have gotten all of the product pictures from the website of the company who makes the product

My Intro to Makeup

I have always been a makeup junkie.  I started dancing when I was in second grade.  I loved going to performances and dressing up and getting to wear makeup.  I would wear my costumes around the house on a daily basis.  As soon as I was old enough I started buying up all the makeup I could.  My collection started with those lip smackers on a bracelet (ok come one whose didn't).

Then I branched out to other makeup I could buy at Target or Meijers while my mom was grocery shopping.  That Great Lash mascara is still a hit.

I had tons of Maybelline, Cover Girl, and Almay shadow palettes.  But once I was old enough to work and go to the mall on my own, I started buying up all the Bare Essentials eye shadows that I could.  I probably own close to 100 shadows from them.  I still love them.  They last for years, the pigmentation is fantastic, and they don't crease.  

The only downfall to these shadows that I have found is that since the lid is black I have to store them upside down so that I can see which color is which.  Storing them upside down makes all the loose pigment settle in what is supposed to be the top of the jar, and I am too clumsy for my own good and I have dropped countless jars and spilled them all over the counter, floor, and myself.

Once I started competing in dance competitions on a regular basis I started a small collection of M.A.C. shadows that I used for competitions.  They were generally in some vibrant shade of pink or green.  I still have an almost completely full Hot Magenta M.A.C. pigment.  It is insanely bright pink, that, for years, I thought was completely unwearable outside of a dance competition.  But one day I decided that I was tired of all of this makeup just sitting collecting dust and I was going to do something with it.  I mixed the pigment with a little water and used a pencil brush and used it as an eyeliner.  I then went in with a black gel liner and angled liner brush and made a thinner line in black.  I've worn this look a few times now and I have always gotten tons of compliments from both young and older people.

My renewed love for makeup compelled to to apply for a job in the cosmetics department at Macy's.  I got the job almost on the spot, and I have loved every day of it.  I work at the Origins counter.  I love working at this counter.  While Origins focus is on happy, healthy skin and not as much makeup, I truly love working at this counter.  I have learned so much about what it means to have naturally beautiful skin and I am embracing it.  I also get plenty of time to hang out with the makeup artists at other counters and learn tips and tricks from them.

The purpose of this blog is to let you all in on the tips and tricks I learn from the pros.  A lot of times the pros will make youtube videos or pictorials on how to accomplish a look.  While these videos and pictorials can be very informative, the average girl doesn't have thousands of products to achieve these looks, or the money to get them all.  From one broke girl to the next, I will do my best to debunk the myths of makeup without breaking the bank. Enjoy and happy artistry :)

"Beauty is being the best possible version of yourself, inside and out." --Unknown