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Makeup For Ever Eyeshadow - Purple 92

This is the eyeshadow that I always here about when people talk about Make Up For Ever eyeshadows.  I have been wanting to add this shadow to my collection for so long but being the MAC addict that I am I always ended up buying something from them.  However Make Up For Ever has some great products that I absolutely love so I decided to go ahead and start building my Make Up For Ever collection up for my kit and my personal stash.  I really want to add the HD foundation to my kit in the future but for now, I decided to start with shadows!

Make Up For Ever Eyeshadow
Shade Purchased:  Purple #92
Price: $20 USD
Available at Sephora

This is a gorgeous matte purple shadow and I love it so far.  No complaints...well except for the price but hey it's still not too expensive!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

So I dyed my hair black!

Sorry I took this picture with my iphone so it looks a little crazy!!!!

Joking!  I really did dye my hair though and I just wanted to do a quick post about it.  My hair has been a major struggle lately and it just seems dull and lifeless whenever I do it myself (it's always perfect after I come from the salon)!  My hair stylist suggested that I dye it to give it a little something extra and whatever she says, I do.  So basically I dyed it black and I love it.  Now if I can just get my daughter to stop pulling my hair out, we would be set!  She just loves running her hands through it and tugging it.  It's cute and all until I go bald!  

Oh and I did a tutorial on this eye look so check it out below if you are interested!

Sugarpill Loose Eyeshadows featuring Asylum & Birthday Girl

This is the last of my Sugarpill haul...for now.  I totally want more but I'm refraining because of the new MAC collections that are about to make me go broke.  

Sugarpill Loose Eyeshadow
Shades Purchased:  Asylum & Birthday Girl
Price: $12 USD
Available at Sugarpill

I cannot wait to use these colors.  They look amazing!

I'm definitely getting more shades in the future.  I really want Royal Sugar as I love my blue shadow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sugarpill Loose Eyeshadow Trio - Reckless

The second Trio that I purchased in my Sugarpill haul is called Reckless.  I specifically got this trio for Stella.  It is a black with loads of shimmer.  I am obsessed!  The other two colors are gorgeous too and I can't wait to try them out!

Sugarpill Loose Eyeshadow Trio
Shade Purchased:  Reckless (Absinthe, Starling, Stella)
Price: $30 USD
Available at Sugarpill

Love it!  Absinthe is really pretty too and I don't think I have anything like it...although I'm probably wrong!  Makeup hoarder problems. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Sugarpill Loose Eyeshadow Trio - Zillionaire

Finally my "Black Friday" purchases are coming in!  There were so many incredible sales and I just couldn't resist the urge to buy more makeup.  Sugarpill Cosmetics had a 30% off sale and I decided to get some of the loose eyeshadows because I don't own any.  I bought two of the loose shadow sets and 2 single loose shadows.  I really regret not getting all four sets but hey what can you do?!  Since there are quite a few pictures, I'll show one set at a time!  Up now is Zillionaire.

Sugarpill Loose Eyeshaow Trio
Shade Purchased:  Zillionaire ( Goldilux, Junebug, Hysteric)
Price: $30 USD
Available at Sugarpill

I'll have the rest of the swatches up shortly!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Ben Nye Luxury Powder - Beige Suede

Product used over Eve Pearl HD dual foundation in Dark

Just call me a bandwagon jumper. Yup, I have jumped on the Ben Nye train and I couldn't be happier. I originally wanted to try the Ben Nye Banana Luxury powder but it was out of stock when I wanted it, however, they had a darker shade available in Beige Suede so I decided to give it a try.


Ben Nye Luxury Powder
Shade Purchased:  Beige Suede
Price: $8.50 USD/1.5 oz jar
Available at Camera Ready Cosmetics

I use this product to set concealer under eyes and down the bridge of my nose mostly as it is a matte finish and I already have dry skin so I don't need this all over my face.  I apply this product with a latex-free cosmetic sponge and after letting it sit for a few minutes, I swipe off the excess product with my Real Techniques Contour brush. 

I love how this product sets my concealer and highlights the skin.  I also love that it doesn't look ashy and looks great in photos as well.  The only thing that I don't like about it is that it is hard to blend out the edges because it sets so well.  This is a minor issue as you just have to take a bit more time blending.  

It does have a sifter so you can sift out the amount of product that you would like to use.  The sifter does release quite a bit of product though so be careful. 

Overall, I definitely recommend this product and I have  purchased another on to add to my kit!

 

November 2012 Favorites

Hey!  I did another favorites video.  Let me know if you would like to see a review on any of the products that I have featured in the video.

Thanks so much!

Graftobian Pro Haul

So I mentioned in my previous haul that I am stepping my kit game up.  With this step up, I decided to get new foundations.  I was debating between Eve Pearl, Graftobian and Bobbi Brown.  Graftobian won out because it had great reviews and was honestly the most cost effective.  I decided to get the Warm and Neutral Palettes because I thought it would be good for a majority of clients and I could always make it work by using powders to manipulate the color.

I've already used the warm palette a few times and I really love the finish.  I definitely think that I could have just purchased the Warm Palette and been fine since I'm just started to build a clientele.  


Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Super Palette
Shades Purchased:  Warm - Graceful Swan, Ingenue, Vixen, Femme Fatale, Enchantress, Temptress, Sunlit Linen, Buttermilk, Deser Sand, Golden Sunset, Winter Wheat, Deep Xanthe, Midnight Marigold, Ginger, Burnt Amber, Pecan, Sienna, Caramel



Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Super Palette
Shades Purchased:  Neutral - Bombshell, Prima Donna, Leading Lady, Sweet Heart, Glamour Girl, Cabaret Kitten, Broadway Star, Show Stopper, Screen Goddess, Diva, Chestnut, Warm Umber, Hazelnut, Hidden Magic, Nightfall, Olivia, Smoke, Soft Wisp

Price: $69.99 USD/per palette
Available at CameraReadyCosmetics

Highly recommend these palettes (well at least the warm one since I haven't tested out the cool yet!)

Thanks for stopping by!

MAC Pro Haul Video

Check out my Pro Haul video!  This is the haul that I posted about yesterday and I talk a little bit more about free-lancing!



Thanks for stopping by!

MAC Pro Haul 11.27.12

Hey guys!  So I've decided to pursue my passion and try to become a professional makeup artist.  I have dabbled in freelancing in the past but I've always had a main job that prevented me from really going for it full time and also my jobs paid the bills!  Well now that I'm in Germany and a stay-at-home mom, I have the opportunity to try it out.  The first thing on my agenda was to get a business license which I did.  The process was pretty simple, the only difficulty was the language barrier as I speak very little German and only some of the licensing office professionals speak English.  The next step I had to take was updating my kit.  Now this is possibly the most daunting task because although I've been pretty financially responsible, it is hard to invest money into something without the knowledge of how long it will take to make the money back and not knowing if your dream will succeed or fail. 

The first things I purchased were foundations which I will write about later.  The second thing I bought were some disposables and kit needs which I will also share later.  This is my latest haul and since it's the largest, I thought I would share this haul first.

Also, I know this may seem like a lot of product but I'm "investing" in my business and this is kind of the start-up costs.  I also have a MAC pro card so I received a discount on these items (like I mentioned prior, I free-lanced in the past which is how/why I have a pro card).  

I really wanted to use great setting powders so I decided to purchase my favorite ones which are MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Naturals. These powders can also be used with damp for more coverage and I often use it that way for a foundation like finish.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
Shades Purchased: Light, Light Plus, Medium, Medium Plus, Medium Dark, Dark, Medium Deep and DarkDeep
Price: $29 USD/each
Available at MAC

The next thing I purchased were correctors.  I haven't tried MAC Correctors before but I wanted to give them a try so I purchased four colors that I thought would work in my kit.

MAC Studio Finish Skin Corrector
Shades Purchased: Light Peach, Pure Orange, Ochre, Burnt Coral
Price: $12 USD/each
Available at MAC

 

The next items I purchased were concealers.  I love MAC's Pro Longwear Concealers but I think that the studio finish concealers are more versatile and easier to control.   I'm a little upset that I purchased these as I hear MAC is releasing concealer mini palettes but I needed my concealers now so I'll deal!

MAC Studio Finish Concealer
Shades Purchased: NC15, NW30, NW15, NW40, NC45, NC30
Price: $18 USD/each
Available at MAC

Up next are Pigments.  I have so many bareMinerals loose eyeshadows that I didn't think I needed any more loose eyeshadows but I thought that I would give pigments a chance and get a few of them in the most popular colors.

MAC Pigment
Shades Purchased:  Naked, Naked Deep Dark & Tan
Price: $21 USD/each
Available at MAC

...and there is more.  I purchased two of the lip palettes.  I usually like to use lipsticks in the tube and just scrape off the amount needed for a client but that takes up space and I'm trying to be efficient and consolidate so I purchased the palettes.  I want to get two more but they are currently sold out.

MAC Pro Lip Palette
Shades Purchased:  Editorial Reds (Lady Danger, On Hold, Russian Red, MAC Red, Ruby Woo, Dare You) & Preferred Pinks (Pretty Please, Please Me, Lovelorn, Creme De La Femme, Show Orchid, Violetta)
Price: $40 USD/each
Available at MAC

I needed a line filler so I got one...yeah.

MAC Prep & Prime Line Filler
Shades Purchased: n/a
Price: $20 USD
Available at MAC

 
I also needed some brow pencils because after doing a trial I realized that I needed to step my game up when it comes to brow colors. 



MAC Eye Brows
Shades Purchased:  Spiked, Lingering, Strut, Brunette, Stud & Fling
Price: $15 USD/each
Available at MAC

I also purchased a Chromographic Pencil.

MAC Chromographic Pencil
Shades Purchased: NW25/NC30
Price: $15 USD/each
Available at MAC

The last (hooray) thing I purchased were eyeshadows.  

MAC Eye Shadow Pans
Shades Purchased: Samoa Silk, Brule, Carbon, Rule, Jest, Folie, Chrome Yellow
Price: $12 USD/each
Available at MAC

I also purchased the eyeshadow palettes to put the correctors and eyeshadows in.   The four pan palette is $9.  The large palette is $18 and the 15 pan insert is $9.  Again, I did use my pro discount for these items so I did not pay full price.  This purchase is for my professional makeup kit so that is why there is so much stuff! 

Please let me know if you have any feedback or questions!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Eyebrows!

Picture taken with iphone.

Eyebrows are probably the most important aspect of my makeup regime.  If my eyebrows are having an off day I immediately hate my entire makeup look.  I get a lot of compliments on my brows and I'm thankful because they have truly come a long way.  My natural brows are super sparse and gross but I fell in love with Make Up For Ever's Eye Brow Corrector (now discontinued...boooo) and I have been able to achieve the brows I always wanted. 

Do you have any favorite brow products that you are using?  Let me know so I can try them out!

MAC Holiday 2012 featuring the Glamour Daze Collection

Finally a collection that I can actually get products from without staying up all night and day!  I didn't get anything from the Marilyn Monroe collection that MAC recently released because it was all sold out but this time I lucked out.  I purchased two lipsticks, an eyeshadow and a blush.  

MAC Lipstick
Shade Purchased: Glamourdaze (Limited Edition)
Finish:  Cremesheen
Price: $16.50 USD
Available at MAC  

This is another pinky/brown color that I absolutely gravitate to.  I love this color.  I love the finish.  I love everything about this lipstick and it is definitely backup worthy!

MAC Lipstick
Shade Purchased: Outrageously Fun (Limited Edition)
Finish:  Cremesheen
Price: $16.50 USD
Available at MAC  

This is my typical pinky/purple lipcolor that I love.  This one really settled into the lines in my lips but I have really dry lips so I will definitely wear a balm underneath this one next time.  However, I love the color and I love that it's a little more subdued than my bright bright lipsticks that I wear! 

MAC Blush
Shade Purchased: Small Vanity (Limited Edition)
Finish:  Cremesheen
Price: $22.00 USD
Available at MAC 

Swatch taken with flash

This blush is not what I wished for.  I thought it would be a lot more pigmented and a nice neutral blush for me.  I think it may be too light but I haven't tried it on my cheeks yet so there is still a little hope.

MAC Eyeshadow
Shade Purchased: Tall, Dark & Handsome (Limited Edition)
Finish:  Extra Dimension
Price: $19.50 USD
Available at MAC 

What a gorgeous eyeshadow!  Love the texture and the color.  I forgot to take a picture of the swatch but it is gorg!


Thanks for stopping by!

MAC Lipstick - Mehr

Apparently I don't have enough lipsticks because I keep buying more.  I seriously have a problem but I don't want a solution!  This go around I selected another matte lipstick from MAC and this one is a muted pink. 

MAC Lipstick
Shade Purchased: Mehr
Finish:  Matte
Price: $15.00 USD
Available at MAC 

This is truly a gorgeous shade.  It is quickly becoming one of my favorite everyday colors.  It's not too bright or too boring.  It is pretty perfect.  It glides on smoothly and last for 4-5 hours on me (maybe more if I can stop eating for that long)!

Love Love Love!

Thanks for stopping by!

MAC Lipstick - Yash

I have another MAC Lipstick to add to my collection.  I've become a bit of a nude/neutral lip crazy and I thought MAC's Yash would be a nice addition to my collection.

MAC Lipstick
Shade Purchased: Yash
Finish:  Matte
Price: $15.00 USD
Available at MAC

Yash is a peachy nude and a comfortable matte.  It went on smoothly and didn't tug at all.  It did seep into lines so I would recommend that your lips are exfoliated and moisturized prier to use. 

Although I can probably get away with wearing this color without a lipliner, I think I may prefer it with a liner.  

Another good nude/neutral color for us WOCs!

Thanks for stopping by!

Face of the Day 9.29.12

So I'm sick again.  My nose is running, my eyes are watering and I can barely think straight so I decided to put on some makeup to make me look better than I feel. 

Face:
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer - NW43
Make Up For Ever HD Foundation - 175
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural - Medium Dark & Dark
Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer - Ebony 8
theBalm Betty-Lou Manizer 
MAC Blush - Raizin

Eyes:
Make Up For Ever Eyebrow Corrector - 4
MAC Studio Finish Concealer - NW43
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow - One to Watch
MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow - Sweet Satisfaction
MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow Thru the Night
MAC Eyeshadow Texture
Maybelline Gel Eyeliner - Blackest Black
YSL Faux Cils Mascara
Buxom Eyeliner - Black
 

Lips:
Revlon Lip Butter - Pink Truffle

Thanks for stopping by!

MAC Lipstick - Yung Rapunxel

I usually stick to red and pink lipsticks and glosses but every once in a while I try out an amped up vamp color.  I thought that Yung Rapunxel seemed interesting enough and quite vampy so I gave it a try.  

MAC Lipstick
Shade Purchased: Yung Rapunxel
Finish:  Amplified
Price: $15.00 USD
Available at MAC

It looks super pretty in the tube but something about it didn't really do it for me.  I really think I just want to cling to spring/summer colors and I'm not yet ready for fall.

Just a glossy purple.  Not that exciting in my opinion.  Maybe it needs liner?

Thanks for stopping by! 

Too Faced La Creme Lipstick - Sweet Maple

I finally got a chance to use the second lipstick that I purchased from Too Faced Cosmetics' new lipstick line La Creme.  I absolutely love this formula and I can't wait to try out more colors since I purchased two neutral lippies.  

Too Faced La Creme Lipstick
Shade Purchased: Sweet Maple
Finish:  Creme
Price: $21.00 USD
Available at Too Faced

This shade is described as a plum brown but it is mostly brown on me.  This made a great everyday neutral/nude shade and I like it a lot.  

Gorgeous and I definitely would recommend it for my fellow WOC's!

Thanks for stopping by!