Makeup Tips #1!

Copyright Urban Decay Cosmetics

I'm starting a new series here on the blog- Makeup Tips!  Quick little posts with some of my favorite tips for making your makeup look amazing.

Tip #1:  Use an eye primer before putting on your eye color

Using an eye primer will allow your eyeshadow to cling to the eyelid better and last all day.  I hear from women all the time that they get frustrated when their eyeshadow fades or settles into the creases of their eyelids.  Yet when I ask them if they use an eye primer first, they look at me like I have two heads.

Not only will it help your eye color last longer through the day (especially important if you have oily lids or lots of fine lines), it will also keep the color truer.  Ever put an eye shadow on your lid only to  have it look completely different from how it did in the pan?  Eye primers counteract this problem!

And if that wasn't enough, many eye primers now come with a multitude of skincare benefits, from hydrating to firming.  How awesome is that?!

Do you have a favorite eye primer?  Here are mine:

1. Tarte 360 degree Creaseless Eye Primer.  It's silky smooth and very hydrating.  And I love that Tarte doesn't test on animals and uses natural ingredients in a lot of their products.
2. Benefit Stay Don't Stray.  This is best for fair skinned women, as it's got a built in concealer that completely blocks out discoloration on the lid.  Perfect for those days when you don't really want to wear shadow, but you want your lids to look fresh.  Goes under your undereye concealer as well to keep it in place!
3. Too Faced Shadow Insurance.  Available in a variety of shades to give your eyes exactly what they need.  Comes in clear, lemony yellow, candlelight (shimmery golden), champagne, and glitter glue- perfect if you wear glittery shadows or loose pigments!
4. Urban Decay Primer Potion.  Also available in a variety of colors.  Eden (a nude), Original (clear), Sin (shimmering champagne- gorgeous on its own!), and Greed (shimmering golden).

Huge Ulta Haul- March 2013

I haven't ordered from Ulta in a long time, and let's just say that this time I went a little buck wild.  I had a coupon for 20% off, they had BOGO 1/2 off on L'Oreal and NYX products, freebies from a lot of my favorite prestige brands, and on top of that for using my link through ShopAtHome.com, I got 8% cash back on me entire purchase. Overall I'd say I came close to saving at least $100, including the rebate, coupon, freebies, sales, and free shipping.

My Freebies

It was the perfect opportunity for me to purchase some things that I've been wanting to try, like the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation.  A girlfriend of mine, and fellow makeup artist, has been using this for a few months and raves about it to everyone that she sees.  I tried it for the first time yesterday, and I can see why. It truly lives up to its name.  It looked like I wasn't wearing anything at all, and it evened out my skintone really nicely.  I won't go into a full review now.  I'll save that for a future post, but I'm really impressed with it after my first test run of it.

Other notable greats were the Benefit Hello Flawless pressed powder.  I've been using the foundation for a few weeks now, and it made my list of March Favorites, so I really wanted to try the powder.  I love it when I can get matching foundation and powder from the same line.  Plus, Ulta was giving away a free 10 day sample of the foundation, so I've got an awesome travel size to take with me.  Yay!  I also got the Fakeup Concealer stick, and I'm still undecided about this one.  It will require further experimentation before I'll make a ruling on it. (I feel like a lawyer here!  I need to lay off the crime dramas on tv I guess. lol.)

I was super excited to see that Ulta was doing BOGO 1/2 off on L'Oreal and NYX products, so I stocked up on things I've been wanting to try.  I read a review of the Infalliable eyeshadows, and from the blogger's swatches, I picked my six favorite colors.  In person, they didn't disappoint.  I did a quick swatch of each color on my arm for you to see how richly pigmented they are.  I love the way they feel so creamy, yet finish like a powder.  I put Bronzed Taupe on my eyelid with some Eternal Sunshine above the crease and on my browbone for a quick eye look while I did some videos, and it's held up really nicely.  The lids have a bit of a glossy look from the metallic shimmer of the brown color, but it's a super quick and easy smokey eye.  I can see this being an amazing shadow base for more intricate looks.  I don't know about the whole 24 hour claim, but after wearing it for nine hours before hitting the sheets, it didn't crease up at all.  I'll definitely be buying the remaining colors the next time I see a sale on them.  I can see them being a staple in my personal makeup bag this summer when I want something quick and easy with lots of impact.

In order from left to right: Liquid Diamond, Endless Sea, Golden Emerald, Eternal Sunshine, Bronzed Taupe, Amber Rush.  Kinda looks like a rainbow, eh?  Totally unintentional! lol.

For NYX, I tried out their HD foundation primer.  I'll need to experiment with it more under other foundations, because under the Naked Skin, it wasn't shown off so to speak.  The foundation was so awesome, it didn't feel like it needs a primer at all.  I was surprised though how thick it was, like a lotion.  And it smelled strongly, almost like cheap sunscreen.  It was also a bluish white color instead of clear.

I also grabbed two of their eyebrow pencils in Auburn and Medium Brown.  Auburn was really red, and the medium brown was too light for my brows.  I'll need to pick up a few other colors to see what works best with my dyed red brows and my dyed red hair.  I may just stick to using my eyeshadow colors for now and avoid pencils.  Red brows are super tricky, and I've yet to find a pencil that I liked as much as a powder product.  Also in the eye department, I got the Faux Lashes mascara.  I'm not a fan of the brush, as it didn't volumize at all, and the formula was very thin.  I barely looked like I was wearing anything, despite the fibers in the product meant to lengthen and thicken my lashes.  I'll have to try again with multiple coats.

I rounded out my NYX haul with two blushes- Dusty Rose and Mocha.  I was shocked at how pigmented they were!  For a drugstore brand, their blushes pack a lot of punch.  I can see me getting more of these down the road.

Now on to the Smashbox purchases.  (Can you see where I'm getting the whole buck wild thing here?)  They had a nice little set with bronze colored products in it, including a bronze blush that has a gorgeous shimmer and is a wearable brown color meant to be a blush not a bronzer.  There was a bronze lipgloss, full size Be Legendary Lipstick in Honey, and a full size Full Exposure mascara (LOVE this stuff!).

There was also a "create your own kit" deal where I got two eyeshadow trios and a dual ended lipgloss for $33.  There Photo Op eyeshadows are pretty amazing and really pigmented.  I got the Fixed Focus and Macro Lens trios.  Gorgeous neutral browns.  I know they'll look amazing with the Hint of Bronze collection.

Their Be Legendary lipsticks are the bomb, and I've wanted to try out other colors (I own Honey already and now have another full size of it from the kit).  But I didn't want to use the testers in the store (I'm a germ freak when it comes to testers after having worked at cosmetics counters) and didn't want to buy the full size colors only to hate the color.  Enter the Be Legendary lipstick palette!  It's got 8 colors in a nifty little travel worthy palette complete with lip brush.  I'm already planning on buying at least one more for my personal use and using this one for my makeup kit.  I can carry 8 shades with me that I can custom mix for my clients, and when I run out I can refill it with a slice off the full size shade.  It means I won't have to carry 8 lipsticks with me on vacation!  Yay!  (Can you tell I'm soooo ready for a vacation?)

Also included in this massive haul were two nail polishes from L'Oreal (I'll be swatching those with another polish later in the month), a bronzer/highlighter duo from Lorac, the Lorac PRO mascara, and a set of 4 mini nail polishes from OPI.  Plus of course my freebies and samples.

I tried to film a haul video for YouTube yesterday, but it was so long I'm either going to have to find a creative way to edit it into three shorter videos or just try to refilm it.

Have you bought anything new lately you're loving?  Share your recent purchases below in the comments section!

Beauty Subscriptions First Monthly Review

For about a year I got the Birchbox every month, and although I loved the concept, I wasn't exactly always thrilled with the contents.  I've got a little ferret stash going of unused samples in my studio, but they did make good giveaways for clients and other unique little thank you gifts.  My credit card got lost when I was on vacation back in February, and since it was auto-billed to that card every month, I never got one for March.  I figured it was the perfect opportunity to see what else was out there.  I never knew there were so many options out there!

I picked about five, and so far three have come in for the month. IPSY and BeautyBox5 should be here mid to late April I believe.  I have received my boxes from Beautyfix, Glossybox, and Beauty Army.  Here's a rundown of each program and what was in this month's box.

Beautyfix: The most expensive per box at $49.99 I'm not sure if I'll continue this one.  You don't get one every month.  It's by "season", so a total of four times a year, and you can cancel at any time.  Broken down into monthly increments, it's about the same as what I'd be paying for a cheaper monthly subscription.  They say the value is up to $400 per box. You choose your products, so you really get to control how much your box is worth.  My first one came with a bag and eight samples.  The products you get to choose from are either full size products or deluxe size samples.  They aren't cheap brands, either.  For my first box, I chose:

• Full sized lip gloss in Pink/Ava.  The brand is called Skylark by Elle & Blair.  Never heard of them before, but the gloss is nice and creamy and very pigmented.  Could stand to have a scent/flavor to it, since it's on your mouth all day.  It's not a very nice smell at all.  I like the color though, and it doesn't feel too sticky.
• Full sized 24-Karat Gold Dust Shimmer Powder by Jane Iredale in Rose Gold.  Not sure how I'll use this, as it's really pink for my eyes, but it looks a little too sparkly for my cheeks.  I'm going to play around with it some more and see how it goes.  I plan on doing a review for each of these full sized products later in the month after I've played around with them some more.
• Amlactin Ultra Triple Action Alpha-Hydroxy Therapy Hydrating Body Cream.  Whew. A mouthful.  But I love Amlactin for my keratosis pilaris, and this is a nice small size I can toss in my purse.
• Arcona Cranberry Gomage.  According to the sticker, this is a Best of Beauty Allure Award Winner for 2011.  I already LOVE the scent, and anything that purifies the pores is a winner in my book, too.  I'm looking forward to trying this out when I'm done with my new skincare routine.
• DDF Amplifying Elixir- It's a half-ounce size, so it's a little more than a quarter of the full size product, which retails for $75.  A decent size, so it will give me enough uses to determine if it's worth purchasing.  I love that the samples are so big.  Not just a little single use.  For skincare, you really need to use things for at least a week to see any benefits!
• Bliss Triple Oxygen + C Energizing Cream.  I've been wanting to try this brand for a long time now, so I was excited to see this on the list.
• Oxygenetix Oxygenating Moisturizer.  I know nothing about this stuff, but the label makes it sound good.  It's a pretty decent size (30ml), so I'm planning on using this all up and doing a full review in a few months.
• Peter Thomas Roth Lashes To Die For The Mascara.  Not excited by the rubber wand.  I'm usually not a fan of those.  But if this stuff can help my lashes grow, I'll buy the full size!

Here's a swatch of the pigment and the gloss.

Phew!  That was a lot!  You can see how it's worth the $49.99!

I love how when I opened it up, the first thing I saw said "Hello Gorgeous".

Beauty Army:  This one is only $12 a month.  I think the only thing that was full size was the mascara from mark.  But it's a relatively small size anyway (they are meant to be portable), so it's not as full of "value" as the Beautyfix box.  It's a really cute packaging though!  A nice sturdy pink box (with super cute pink camo print on the inside) I can see me using these each month for storing and organizing my samples/makeup.

• Not Your Mother's She's A Tease Volumizing Hairspray. A great 2 oz size, I can toss this in my makeup kit or purse without taking up too much room. Or with me on my travels, which I anticipate there being many more of this year with me leaving the wedding industry and having my weekends back!
• Mark. Scanda-lash Hook Up Mascara.  Also came with whatever they call the little snap piece in the center you pop your glosses/mascara/etc in and out of to make your own custom duo ended beauty product.
• Whip Hand Cosmetics Limited Edition Loose Pigment Shadow in Green Beret.  This is the cutest little sample that I've ever seen.  Seriously.  It looks like it could be in Barbie's makeup bag.  The color looks cool though.

This is next to a MAC eyeshadow pan. Yup, it's that itty bitty!

• Lash Card two pack sampler.  It's a cardboard card you put over your eyelid so that your mascara doesn't get on your lid.  I have to admit, I have this problem all the time right at my lashline, which is why I always wear liner (it gets hidden).  But I'd never pay for cardboard cover ups.  Not sure if I'll ever try them out or just include them in some kind of giveaway.
• Yes to Carrots Nourishing Super Rich Body Butter foil packet. Probably enough product to cover my hands and that's it.  But it will at least give me a feel for the product, and if I like it maybe I'll pick up a real size at Target sometime.
• Advanced Essentials skincare sample foil packets. One is a serum and the other a moisturizer.  Doubt I'll even open these, as a single application is almost useless for skincare for the face.  It's not going to inspire me to change from what I already have.

Glossybox: $21 a month, but with my first box they've already got me convinced it's a great value!  I love the way it's packaged.  After having got the Birchbox every month, which comes in a thin cardboard box, I love that the Glossybox is a thick sturdy box I can reuse. I'm a big fan of repurposing!  It's wrapped nicely in tissue paper, and tied with a grosgrain ribbon. There's even a little logo sticker.  I'm a sucker for presentation obviously.  The second thing I noticed after how nicely it was packaged was the smell coming from a soap bar inside. I'm assuming it's a full size, as it's about the size of a business card and about 3/4 inch thick.  If that's just a sample, the Prestiche company has me impressed.

• Ying Yang soap bar from Prestiche.  It's got "dead sea mud and salt with shea, eucalyptus, tea tree, frankincense, and a pure blend of beneficial oils".  It smells lovely. Reminds me of walking past the Lush store at the mall.  I'm looking forward to using this in the shower, or maybe giving it to my husband to use.  It's got more of a manly type scent than girly.  I'm a fan of fruity or sweet smells on me personally.

• $40 gift certificate to Prestiche.com.  This was what really blew me away.  $40?!  Wow!  That's twice the value of the box subscription on top of all the samples.  And with how good the soap smells, I'm excited to order some more from the site.  I'll do a review of the soap itself along with the other products when I get them in and have had time to review them.
• Model Co Cheek + Lip Tint in Rosy Red.  Not sure why it's called rosy red, as it's a fuschia color, but it's a really big size!  I looked it up on Amazon.com, and the full size is .28 fl oz for $27.31.  The Glossybox size was .33 fl oz!  So it's more than full size!
• Sebastian Shaper Fierce hairspray.  Travel size, but this stuff is awesome.  Even the small travel size cans are at least $3-4 in stores.
• Pixi Lid Last Shadow Pen in Brun Beam.  A really nice matte grey-brown shadow crayon.
• Elite Paris Matt Liner in Matt Brown.  Gorgeous liquid liner with a nice felt tip applicator.  SUPER pigmented.  I can't wait to try this out!
• And because I used the code found in the Glossybox Banner (below and at the top of the blog) I got a free nail polish from OPI.  It's a textured polish, which I've never tried before.  The color is called Can't Let Go, and it's a really beautiful purple with glitter and shimmer.  It's one of their "Liquid Sand" polishes, and I can't wait to swatch it for you!

I'm beyond impressed with all of my new subscriptions, and I can't wait to get the ones from IPSY and BeautyBox5!  By far I think I like GlossyBox best, as I see immediately how much value is in this first box.  You can also sign up for multiple months and get discounts for paying up front.  (So $60 for three months vs $21 per month when billed each month.)  BeautyBox5 does the same thing.  Keep an eye out on the blog for some individual product reviews as I have a chance to test out the products.  You can also watch my box review video on YouTube for GlossyBox each month.  I may do some other boxes each month, too, so I'll be sure to post those videos when I do them.

Wow!  I had a lot to say about these!  What are the boxes you subscribe to?  If you don't would you consider any of these boxes based on my reviews?  I'd love to hear your feedback below!

Why You Should Follow Me on YouTube

Why should you follow me on YouTube?  Let me tell you why...

#1.  It's free.  And it takes like two clicks.  Click HERE to go to the channel, and then find the Subscribe button. Click that.  There.  Done, and it didn't cost you a thing.  Now you have instant access to my wealth of knowledge on all things beauty.

#2.  I actually know what I'm talking about.  I'm not going to teach you how to burn your hair off, give you purchasing advice bought off by the makeup companies, or give you tricks that could cause serious sanitation issues.  I know what works not only my skin tone and shape, but on the skin tones and shapes of the endless clients that I work with day in and day out.  Anything I recommend, I'm going to do so, because it works.  I don't talk about anything I haven't test run on myself or others first.  Same goes for this blog by the way!

#3.  I think I can be pretty funny at times, witty at others, and at my worst not drive you crazy with the sound of my voice.  I'm not going to be crazy and wild and a "what will she do next" kind of girl, but I'll at least make your makeup education not boring.  (And if you've watched YouTube as long as I have, you know that's not always the case for everyone out there!)

So if my words don't inspire you, check out my video above and see for yourself!  Then make my day and make those two little clicks.  Even if you never watch another of my videos again.  Seeing those numbers go up does give me a warm tingly feeling inside! haha!

Want other ways to follow me?  I'm all over!

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