Expensive is key?!

Hello popsicles!

I have been watching some of the top gurus on youtube for makeup and getting more and more displeased with their attitude towards makeup. They are doing reviews of products, that compare EVERYTHING to expensive makeup, and 90% of their looks are using the high end expensive makeup. This blush is not as good as NARS, this brush is not as good as MAC, these liners are not like Urban decay. You know what? Not everyone can afford all of this crap. Afterwords they say you better well save up for the expensive kind. If I bought the expensive makeup then I would have half of what I had now, and would most likely never own some of the colors that I love and need because I would not want to buy 'silly' colors that I use every once and awhile at an expensive place. When they talk about drugstore makeup they use terms like low quality, and kind of make it seem like you really cant create a look that is beautiful from this 'low quality makeup'. As you may know I do not subscribe to the philosophy that you have to buy expensive for it to be good. I really cant justify buying ONE eyeshadow for 16 dollars, unless I am REALLY trying to treat myself. I own maybe 2 MAC eyeshadows and I rarely use them because they were so expensive I do not want to waste them.

There is a middle point, because the high end makeup is too expensive, but if you buy what I call pretty pretty princess makeup (really REALLY cheap makeup) it wont stay and is not very pigmented. Drugstore makeup and my coastal scents palettes are my favorite purchases. Each individual has to figure out what their favorite brand is. Something I love might be something you hate because our skin has different chemistry. A shadow that might stick to me might fall right off your face even with primer. And guess what, with the more inexpensive prices you are able to try different products and not hate yourself for trying something.

Another thing that really bothers me is the people who believe that you need 27 brushes to make a look. Ok I am decent at makeup, I am not a professional but I do love to do makeup and I get compliments on my makeup all the time. I also feel like I know what I am doing from doing makeup for stage. For the longest time I had 3 brushes and that was it. I had a concealer brush, blending brush, and crease brush. I used the sponges that came with the eyeshadow and made due. And guess what, YOU CAN MAKE DUE! I could do everything that the big timers do with the few brushes that I had. It might not be as easy or convenient but hey that is life.

I just got very frustrated with what I was seeing and I think if it does anything then it discourages people from trying to break into the makeup world. I mean, what do you think when all of the tutorials are expensive makeup using 7-8 brushes for look? It is frustrating for newbies because they dont even want to try. I know thats how I felt, when a person could say use a purple with a blue undertone they say grab Expensive McGee makeup Purple Nurple (that is most likely pro color, no longer made, or whatever) and put it all over your eye using a flat brush, then put more with a fluffy brush, THEN use an angled brush....then blend it all out with a blending brush. Sometime they show the shadow, sometimes they dont. Even if they do the camera may not show the makeup to color.

This is a bit of a rant, and I kind of want to inspire people who are trying to do makeup that there is a different way to do things than what is being broadcast.

Flawless face

Alrighty pumpkins! A ton of people ask me how I get my face makeup looking so natural and not cakey. I really dont think that I do anything special, but some people might not know the basics of face makeup. So...I am here to tell you what I do and hope that it helps :)

1) Moisturize. I cant tell you how much this helps. If you have a dry face you will be able to tell that there is makeup on it. Plus, makeup seems to stick better to a face that is moisturized. Generally what I do is put an anti wrinkle eye cream all around my eye (its never too late to fight wrinkles) then put a moistureizer with SPF (you can read my rant about that here) all over my face and neck.

2) Liquid foundation. I only use liquid foundation when my face is crazy bad broken out or splotchy. People need to learn that they do not need to use this stuff every day because it clogs pores and generally people can get the same effect with some spot concealing. When I put my foundation on I use my sigma dual fiber brush.


Technicaly this is not the brush you are supposed to use (it is meant for cream blush or highlights) but I find that it works a ton better than the flat foundation brush in my opinion. It makes for a more even and natural looking application. What I do is put a little foundation (1-2 pumps ONLY) on the back of my hand, and pat the brush into the product. Then I blot off the extra on a part of my hand that does not have product on it and pat the brush on my face. I pat it until most of the product is absorbed on my face THEN I use a swirling motion to make sure I blend everything out. This will ensure that the product is well applied and absorbed into the face and it looks natural and not splotchy. Repeat until the whole face is covered, and make sure you blend out on the neck and as close to the hairline as possible. Lines on the side of the face are really ugly and it is a dead giveaway that you are using product.

3) Conceal. Again, I use a different brush than you are supposed to. I used to use my figners, and I found that the application is not as precise and it gets blotchy. The oil from your fingers will make the concealer fade quicker as well. What I use for large areas is a sigma fluffy shadowbrush, and again I use it because it gives a more natural finish

You use the same technique as the foundation. Pat in the product, pat on your face, then swirl! Once I get a camera I will show you all how to conceal certain parts of the face, but for now this is all I have. Then I use any pencil brush with a bit of concealer to conceal any particular spots (like pimples :( ) also in a patting motion.

4) POWDER! Most people think with all of this color on your face you do not need powder. My number one rule that you all need to remember is whenever you put anything cream or liquid on your face you MUST set it with powder. If you use a cream shadow, you need to put powder on it. Foundation, powder. Even cream liner works better if you set it with powder. It makes the product last longer, prevents creasing, stops excessive oil, and makes it look more natural. There is some scientific blahdy blah to why this works and I am not going to bore you with it. Im just saying, it works. If you do not want more color you can use a translucent powder. I generally just use mild coverage powder with a large powder brush. You use pat and swirl again (a little secret, this is what you do for ANY makeup application...besides liner)


So, this is what I do with my face makeup. The things to remember is blend blend blend. You want everything to be well blended in order to look natural!

Revlon colorstay lipstick

First of all I want to apologize for not posting. Things have been SUPER hectic for me lately, but I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I dont want you all to forget me! I have not been able to get any new products or do fun makeup since I have been interviewing at stuffy boring jobs, so didnt know what to do! I decided that tonight I was going to do a review on one of my go to lip products.

Since you dont have any pictures of me, or much else in the way of evidence I am obsessed with the old holywood vintagey makeup. What does a girl need for that? Red lips, and preferably red lips that stay and stay


As I have said before, I am pale. I have had trouble finding a shade of red lips that is still red, but cool enough to not clash with my skin. Stay Currant is the PERFECT shade that is still red but cooler. It is almost maroonish, but it reads as red.

The packaging - This comes with one side of liquid lipstick, and one side of gloss. There is not much to say about it...it is the size of a normal lipgloss and is just dandy. It has a spongey applicator on the color side, and a brush on the gloss side.


The colors - Like I mentioned before, the colors are rad. They have them (in Wallgreens) organized by color family. So they had a brown, pink, red, nude and coral. There are several different shades, and the color payoff is pretty good. It is very opaque, but at the same time you have to layer it in order for the product not to goop up and to get the darker colors precise.

The formula - Continuing from the color...You have to apply it with several coats, and you have to do it fast because it dries very quickly. What I do is take out the brush and wipe off most of the product and apply it in fourths (2 sections on the bottom and 2 on the top) I only focus on one section at a time. Since it is liquid it can be a bit difficult to work with, so you just have to be careful. Once it is on, you wait for it to dry and apply the gloss. One HUGE HUGE HUGE plus is the color does not move. I wear this to work all the time and dont have to worry about the color getting on my teeth or fading for about 5 or 6 hours, which is a LONG time for lipstick. That being said, once it does fade it will fade in the middle of your lips and the edges will stay even if you apply it over a lipliner, so you have to be careful to check in and make sure you dont look silly once it does fade. You can kind of feel it beading up when it is fading so that is kind of a strange feeling...but you will know when it is coming off. The color will dry out your lips, so make sure that they are not peeling or dry already before you apply it, and make sure to put on chapstick after you remove it.

Removal - The lipstick is easily removed with makeup remover! That is the only way to get rid of it, so if you are planning on changing colors without going home for some remover dont put this on your lips!

I am rating 4.5 stars out of 5. I have used higher end products and this lipstick stays better than any of them, and it is below 15 dollars. I dont remember the exact price since it lasts awhile and I have not bought any in a few months but I want to say I got it for 10? I think that is a real bargain. I would highly recommend this to anyone who asks for a longwear lipstick. The only downside is it is drying.

123 eyeshadow

Alright popsicle muffins! I have a little kind of tutorial / technique lesson for you all. I call it the 123 eyeshadow method, and it is perfect for beginners or people looking for a simple look. Its called 123 because it uses 3 different shadow colors, and there are 2 really simple ways to apply the colors.

1)
(please ignore the terrible picture and lazy makeup application. This was a quickie)
The first method is for people who have lots of lid space. I believe that people who have smaller lid space can use this too, but it is a bit harder to apply. You use three colors (light medium and dark) and apply them in this pattern. I feel like this look is more dramatic than the other method, so this could be a nighttime look while the other look is more for day. Lots of palettes have this method on the packaging, but generally they have all medium colors to use. It is not unheard of to use colors that are all light or all medium, it just does not give the eye the same depth as when using the light, medium, and dark.

2)


The reason why people would use this method would be for people with smaller lid space. See how the colors are just stacked next to each other instead of placed on top of each other? It also is less dramatic (to me) because the dark is just on the outer corner instead of placed all over the other colors as well.

So those are 2 methods of how to use three colors that takes around 5 minutes to do? It is super easy and people of any level can apply makeup with this method!

Animal Testing

Ok popsicles today I have a serious note post for you all. This is a picture of me and my beautiful puppy named Mayzie. I am kind of obsessed, and treat her like a daughter more than a pet. She hogs the bed, gets the best food, and is the best dog that you could ever imagine. Mayzie makes me smile every day.

I am kind of obsessed with my animals, and for that reason have actively boycotted companies that use animals to test their products. I know many people have spoken about this, and most of the big youtubers are great spokespersons for this cause. I am here to put in my two cents and to kind of explain things in a more concrete way

Companies that use animals for testing do not care about the lives of living things that are not humans. The companies believe that it is easier, cheaper, and better to test on animals because it does not really matter what happens to the animals, because...well...they are animals. The sole purpose for these tests to see if their products will be harmful to humans. The animals are locked up and undergo painful and risky experimentation to test these products. After enduring lives of pain, loneliness and terror, almost all of them will be killed since it is not practical to try to rescue them from this situations. I know that this is preachy and you can agree or disagree but there are better and cruelty free ways to test products.

Google image animal testing, and I am sure you will change your mind.

I am not a vegetarian, vegan, or crazy animal PETA person. BUT I do care about animals, and believe that they should not suffer for me to have my mascara or perfume. There are lots of companies that do not use testing, but the ones that do might surprise you

Cover Girl
Dove
Lancome
L'Oreal US
Max Factor
Maybelline
Neutrogena
Sally Hansen

Are just to name a few as companies that use testing. My eyes have only recently been open to the animal testing companies, so I am still making mistakes. The main point is that I am aware, and I am trying. I have only recently found this search engine, and I urge you to search your favorite companies to see if they test on animals or not.

http://www.peta.org/living/beauty-and-personal-care/companies/default.aspx

Because....I can never imagine my Mayzie having to be put through a life like this. So, if you would not do it to your animal, why wish it on others?

Fall look!

I did a fun fall look today that I wanted to share! I only have a cellphone camera right now, so sorry for crappy quality :( Once I get a for real camera I can do this more often!







PRODUCTS USED
Urban decay eye primer
NYX jumbo eye pencil in milk
Coastal Scents 88 palette hot pink
Coastal Scents 88 palette burgundy
Coastal Scents 88 palette deepblue
Coastal Scents copper torch eyeshadow
The Body Shop eye shimmer 04 (can use ELF eyeshadow transformer pink shade)
Urban decay 24/7 liner in zero
Urban decay 24/7 liner in lucky (waterline)

Physicians formula POP EYES review

I know I keep saying that I am going to get a camera, but since I am currently between*cough* desperately searching for a *cough* job I am not going to be able to get one for awhile. I just love it how when I start out blogging my camera breaks. Just my luck! So, I am going to do another review for you all!

Physicans formula POP EYES!


I got the green and blue color, but I am sure it works for hazel or whichever other one it has too!

The packaging: What I find as a pro for this product is also a con. I really like that it has several colors in one small compact size, but the eyeshadows are not in pans. Bad bad PF! You need pans! At first it would seem like it doesn't matter about pan or no pan, but it is REALLY difficult to get a big fluffy blending brush in just one color without concentrating. I don't know about you but when I do makeup I tend to work like a mad woman and I don't want to put any extra effort into something so small as to getting the colors mixed since they are all smashed together. Other than that, it is really convenient and fits nicely in my extra shove room in the drawer of doom.

The colors: The colors are really nice and diverse so for a beginner it would be awesome to get one palette and get 9 different colors in one pack. They are not as pigmented as I would like, but since it is so cheap for so many colors I don't mind layering a bit. It is about 10 dollars for 9 colors, and I got mine at ULTA for buy one get one half off a few months ago so it was really a steal.

One thing I really don't like is that I personally would never create a look with just these colors since they are all shimmery. I HATE when eyes have only finish, so all shimmery wont work for me. I would probably use a matte over the lid and accent it with some of the shimmer shades....or use a matte highlight. Whatever way I put it, I don't like that they are all shimmery and kind of pearlescent too. I guess I should have known that it would be like that since it is called Shimmer strips and the whole theory is to illuminate so I guess the product just does what it says it will. Just not my cup of tea.


The formula: The formula goes on very smoothly and blends out well without too much fallout. Like I said before it is not as pigmented as I would like so I have to layer it a bit, but eh. I have used wayyyy worse. I am not blown away, but not disappointed with the formula

So my general rating is 3.5 stars out of 5. I would suggest this for people who are just starting to do makeup, or who are trying to get lots of colors fast. For me I will use some of the colors more than others, some of them are WAY prettier. Like in the green palette there is that BEAUTIFUL forest green int he middle, but then the kind of ugly muddy lilac color. Some are good and others are MEH!

Pale is the new tan!

Well, not necessarily pale (but in my case it is!) but healthy and natural skin!

Most of the people I know tan during the summer outside, and use tanning beds during the winter in order to keep up the dark skin. Also people tend to think that because it is cold outside that they cant get burnt from the sun. YOU CAN!

My first plea is to use a moisturizer on your face with SPF, even in the winter. Your skin can and will still get harmful rays when it is cold outside. If you dont care about keeping your skin healthy then at least the sunscreen will help to combat wrinkles. Im not going to go on and on about it since everyone else does, so just do it!

And for the people who tan, maybe think about giving your skin a break. Natural skin is in! Plus, skin cancer sucks. I used to tan like all of you lovelies and I went to the dermatologist one day, and BAM! I had 8 spots that were 'potentially cancerous' that they had to cut out of my skin and I have pretty nasty scars from it. If you dont believe that natural skin is in than I think everyone can agree that nasty scarred up legs is not in. Now I have to go back once a year and get all of the spots on my skin checked out so that we can make sure they are not growing. And if they are, means I get more cut out. Fun, eh?

This is a shorter post, but I think it is important. Also, if you have any spots that are new, irregular, dark, or anything that you think may be sketchy go to your dermatologist before it is too late. I am glad I went when I did because it could have been worse. Ill include a little chart so you can see what I mean by sketchy.

Sorry for yelling at you popsicles, this is just important! Hope you are having a good weekend!

Falsies mascara!

EDIT: I am leaving the review up (kind of) but I absolutely do not support this product. I thought that Maybelline was one of the companies that dont test on animals, but after looking it up again I found out that they do. I do not support buying products from companies that test on animals, and encourage my popsicle princesses to also avoid purchasing products that come from companies who test. More about that later.


Whoo! My first review. I decided to do the falsies lashes because I have heard really good things
about this product! (SIDE NOTE! I am still having trouble finding a camera so no images :( I am sorry!)

I have to start to say that my reviews are just my opinions, and should be taken as such.

I dont think that this product deserves all (or any) of the hype. Here is a bit of a breakdown

1) The packaging - Its cute, to me the fatter size is a bit annoying, but thats because it makes it difficult to fit in my drawer with the rest of my mascaras.

2) The brush - The brush is actually not that bad. I like the brushes to be stiffer, it was a bit too flexible for my liking. The company says that the flexibility helps to separate lashes, but I didnt find that to work at all. It also has a curve that some people like, but it makes it difficult for me to get it on my bottom lashes without smudging everywhere. YUCK!

3) The formula - The formula for me is terrible. It has a strange consistancy, it is a bit watery and takes FOREVER to dry. Also it is really easy to get a spidery look if you do more than one application, which annoys me since I like to layer mascara. With the one application I could do I didnt notice anything different from other mascaras. I would actually say that some of my other mascaras that are not supposed to build like this one work better. Another downfall is that it is not as black as I would like, and it flakes. :(

4) Removal - Here is one of the things that I dont like about the tube like mascaras. I dont like how difficult they are to remove. I know its an oxymoron because you want it to stay when you want it to stay, but I really would like it to come off with some makeup remover. It takes FOREVER to remove YUCK!

So I will give it 1.5 stars out of 5. I will not be buying again, and it is totally not what it advertised.

Do you have any opinions? Different experiences? Post below!

50 dollar mac gift card!?

Alright my little makeup popsicles! I have found a great site, with a great contest happening NOW! Makeup talk is a website with helpful reviews, contests and a place where you can chat with others about everything makeup! I love this place, and for a contest they are giving out 3 5o dollar MAC gift cards! What more could a diva want!

Click HERE for more information,and good luck!

Healthy lashes?

Hello my little popsicles! Its time for a little helpful mixture that will help condition and (through conditioning) GROW eyelashes. Do you take care of your lashes? Do you really? The easiest way to make lashes look amazing is to take care of them

All of those eyelash growth products out there scare me, and not only that, they are SUPER expensive! I have an alternative that costs about....ummmm...2 dollars? I already had these items in my house, and you might too!

1) Vaseline or petroleum jelly
2) Olive oil
3) A contact case
4) An old mascara wand


All you do is clean off the old mascara wand until the water runs clean. We don't want any mascara getting onto the lashes while we are trying to moisturize! Fill up the contact case about half full with the Vaseline. Pour a few drops of the Olive oil on top of the Vaseline and mix mix mix! It will take some good mixing to get these mixed together! It is important to only put a few drops of the olive oil, the mix should be goopy, not runny!


Now all you need to do is dip the mascara wand into the mix and apply to top and bottom lashes! Make sure to scrape off any excess so that there is not huge globs on your lashes!

Put this on your lashes before bed, and in a few weeks you will notice healthier and LONGER lashes! I know I did!

And extra tip....you can put this on brows too! :)

I learned how to make this somewhere but I do not remember where. If you know where credit it owed....please let me know so I can credit.

Photoshop on models

I hear all the time that someone would like the makeup from a photoshoot that they see. That is great, and photoshoots are great way to get inspiration for makeup looks and to start to practice makeup skills. The thing that people do not realize is the huge amount of image editing that is done on photoshop to make these models look great. Makeup is awesome and you can do some stunning things with it, but there is still so much you can do even with the greatest makeup skills.

I found a website I would like to share of some great photography, and if you roll over the images it will show you the pre photoshop and the image that you see is the post photoshop. Hopefully this will help to show you that the glowing skin that you see is not actually the makeup, it is the photoshop creating an ACTUAL glow to the skin

http://www.retouching.felicefawn.com/

Just a thought, dont get discouraged if you do not look like these girls with makeup alone!

Halloween makeup!

My friends got some pictures of my Halloween makeup, so I thought I would share
I was a zombie! Enjoy! :)

First post

Hello makeup lovers!

I am here to give you all some tips and tricks that I have learned from doing makeup for theater / special occasions / just things that I have learned over the years from loving makeup and beauty!


That being said, I am a 22 year old college student and ABSOLUTELY do NOT believe all of the hype for expensive makeup brands. Expensive makeup is like having a designer purse versus a walmart purse. Both of the purses will hold what you need them to, just one will look more in style while doing it.



I am not going to lie and say that I do not own some MAC or more 'fancy' makeup, but since I do have both 'fancy' makeup and drugstore makeup I can compare the two. I like some of my drugstore makeup more than my MAC but just like all things you need to be wise about what you buy.


I also have another disclaimer! I started this endeavor without a camera. I am looking to buy one soon, but until I am just going to type out some tips and tricks that do not require a picture. I hope you all will lift each other up and help to lift me up, so we all can learn together and help each other to feel like the beautiful people we are!