August 2014 Ipsy Bag Spoiler!

          I don't know of many women on Ipsy that actually choose to be surprised with the contents of their glam bag and I can understand why. Last month was my first experience with the world of Ipsy and I couldn't do enough digging to try and find out what items were being issued before they told us. I think I was a little obsessed with the idea to be honest. Every month starting on the 1st, unless it falls in a weekend, there are sneak peaks given to all of us ipsters through social media and I think every last one of us stalks their pages to find out what's coming. I was able to find a pre sneak peak of what goodies are coming to us next month... Ready for it?

There aren't enough words to describe how excited I am about this! Rarely do I get the chance to go pay the prices that come with name brands like this, so I am in for a real treat! 

We will all receive one of the following two products:

24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil

Or..

 Perversion Mascara

          I had a tube of their mascara once that I swear to you had to be the best mascara I ever used. It went on smoothly, didn't clump or run or smear and had the blackest of black colors I've ever seen a mascara have. Granted I believe both of these products will be trial sizes, I am totally okay with that. 

Only 2 more days until the real sneak peaks begin. I will be sure to share what I find out!

What is ipsy?

Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription that is only $10 a month. You get 4-5 samples sized products varying from moisturizers to lip sticks to facial cleansers and more. With this service you get to try products you might never have known about, and either love them or hate them but the bags are always worth more than the $10 being put into it. The way I see it, if you love just 1 product out of the 4-5 you receive, you have paid for the value of your bag right there. Personally, I loved every item in my last bag and am sure I won't be disappointed in the future. 

Interested in singing up?

Click here!

E.L.F. Eyeshadow - Shimmery Pink and Brown

        ***Please note: the quality of these pictures aren't very great. If you click on them to make them bigger, they will be very pixelated.***

        I didn't realize just how much work a blog would actually be, but I am enjoying it none the less. If only I could do makeup for a living I'd be in good shape! I am still figuring out this new computer so a lot of these pictures are still not the best quality, but I am trying really hard for you guys. 

           As i've mentioned before, ELF cosmetics has become one of my favorite product lines ever. All of their products are super affordable and they are just as good as any of the others out there. There are products here and there that are sort of a miss, but for what they are priced at, it's not a huge hit on the pocket. Here is a step-by-step guide with pictures on how to create the look below...

          Putting my face online for the general public to see without makeup is a terrifying decision. There are so many mean people out on the internet, but I had to come to terms with it. If I am going to have a makeup blog, successful or not, there is absolutely zero chance of doing it right without before and after shots. None. So, I welcome  any negative comments that may come along the way. I am who I am, I am comfortable with who I am and if you don't like the real unmade up me, then perhaps this isn't the place for you to be. 

Moving along..

First and foremost, hydration underneath your makeup is key and is best to try and let it sink in a good 20 minutes or so before going through your whole routine. If you can't, well that's understandable. We all have our rushing days however I have noticed that if you don't let us soak into your skin first, the foundation will kind of cake up. So if you can, let it sit and do it's job. 

The difference a little foundation can make! I use maybe two pumps of this particular foundation:  L'oreal Invisalift Foundation it is very concentrated and a little goes a long way. I usually use my fingers which I know is a huge no-no in the world of makeup, but I feel that brushes can sometimes leave foundation looking and feeling a little too thick. The best applicators to use for liquid foundation would be either a Beauty Blender or a Stippling Brush but if you use your fingers, make sure to wash your hands! It will get all over everything!

Almay Wakeup Powder Foundation is a discontinued product that I went searching for online. This was my favorite powder a few years ago and I am so glad I found it. The foundation I use is a little too light for my skin tone and I don't really like the look of liquid alone, so I always go over with a little bit darker loose powder. Not everyone should do this, but I have a lot of things I need to cover up so I apply this and blend, blend, blend so it doesn't look too heavy. 

End result...

Voila! My skin matches and I magically got darker eyebrows! I skipped the step when I put my eyebrows on because I've been doing the same thing since I was about 15 years old. All the rage right now are these super groomed eyebrows that literally everyone is walking around with. Literally everyone (to me) is walking around with the exact same shape and style of eyebrow and while they look nice, it's just not for me. Maybelline Ultra Brow Powder it comes with a little tiny brush and goes on perfectly. This little guy lasts literally forever. I've been using the same powder for the last 2 years, I think? I know all makeup products have expiration dates but I swear i'm only halfway through it. 

**I just got my hopes and dreams crushed. I've been using this eyebrow powder for the last 10-12 years and found out it is discontinued?! I hate it when they do that... **

  

NYX Eyeshadow base in the skin tone color is my little secret to covering blemishes. After I have my face on, I use a little brush and dab it into place, cover it with a little bit of whatever powder foundation I am using at the time and it hides them perfectly. You should try it! This jar is $7.00 and lasts forever. It works great for it's intended purpose but I get a little extra out of it with this trick.

Almay seems to be my go to right now in terms of facial makeup. Almay Wakeup Highlighter/Concealer is a really good concealer in my opinion. It covers really well, blends beautifully and the end result is very natural.

I know it looks crazy, but this is a good technique. I dab a little bit of the concealer under my eye (and over my foundation) and make a triangle down to the corners of my nose and over the inside of my cheeks. Not only are you covering up those under eye circles, but you are brightening that whole area in the process. I use Bare Minerals Concealer brush to apply and blend it all together. 

Look at the difference between the two sides of my face:

Huge difference. The far edges of it aren't quite blended 100% in this picture, but it doesn't take much to buff it out. I feel like using the concealer in this way lifts that whole section of the face. 

Next up? Bronzer! I never used bronzer until recently, thanks to Ipsy. I received POP Bronzer (sunkissed) in my July 2014 Glam Bag and I have to say I am in love with this product. Typically you don't want want to use a bronzer with any shimmer to it for contouring, but this is what I have and it works great. I use it sparingly and it just warms up the whole face. Although the process of contouring looks crazy!

It looks like war paint. I use a little bit (although I used to wrong brush here so it is a bit of a wide area) under my cheek bones, around the top edges of my forehead and around my temples. I used some of the sides of my nose here, but I ended up blending it out really well because I didn't like the way it looked. 

After blending it all together. It doesn't change the look of everything where it is super noticeable, however it makes a difference in the definition of your face. I do believe it is hard to tell with the quality of these photos, however.  I will say this: I am new to the world of contouring so I haven't gotten the technique fine tuned yet. I notice now after looking at the picture that the edges around my nose are a little dark and unblended. I fixed this later on. Also, when contouring around the nose area, you should pull the darker shade straight down over your nostrils so you don't widen the look of the tip of your nose. Which I clearly did not do correctly. 

NYX Baked Blush in the color Lady Like. It has such a pretty finish and highlights your face really well. According to the product description it can be used wet or dry and it runs about $7.00 

I have never used it wet so I don't know what that is like, but I will definitely try it out and be sure to post my results. I try not to bring the blush all the way down to the apples of my cheeks because I have really puffy cheeks at times. If you have puffy cheeks and bring it all the way down, when you aren't smiling that extra color will appear as though it is pulling your face down, and that's no good. The middle picture shows how far I bring the color down my face and the bottom picture shows me bringing it up to my temple. When I get closer to the temple area, I cannot stress enough how much blending is necessary. The last thing you want is bright pink temples. :)

My go to eye primer. It lasts forever and doesn't crease.  Best part? It's $3.00

LF 144 piece Bright eyeshadow palette

I use the 3rd color down on the far right column for my brow bone highlight.

Because I have smaller eyes and eyelids I always apply my crease color before my lid color so it doesn't cover any of the pigment on my lids.

 ELF Mineral Eyeshadow in Sweet 

This is the color I will be using for my lid. Loose powders are tricky to apply, at least to me. A good primer and maybe a good mixing medium (or water which works really well, believe it or not with some products) are important when applying these so you don't end up with a crazy mess.  

and the above pink for the outer, right side of my lid.

Pat the crease color on with an eyeshadow brush, but don't put it on as far as you want it to go; use a blending brush to take it out as far as you would like and soften the color in the process.

Left side is unblended, right side blended. You can always add more; it's really hard to take away once it's been applied. If you want a more dramatic look, just soften the edges instead of blending the whole area.

I did not use any medium with the mineral shadow. It goes on super thick when your are first applying it, but it thins out a lot if you apply it dry. I only wanted a hint of color with a shimmery effect, so this is why I applied it without.

End result, after applying the darker pink on the outer edges of my eye. A very natural, light look. 

I did not get any pictures of the darker pink as it was a very, very last minute decision. 

Loreal Gel Eyeliner Pot  goes on like butter.

And to finish it off with Maybelline BIG EYES falsies waterproof mascara. As I've mentioned before, I hate this mascara, but it's what I have at the moment and I can't just throw away makeup. It's like makeup abuse or something.. just wrong. :)

The Perfect Natural Look with Inexpensive Products

          I've been racking my brain over the last couple of days about what I could possibly write about. I promised eye shadow, but have had somewhat on a brain fart as to what about eye shadow. This entry is for those of you who need help with figuring out how to do a really nice, basic natural look as well as those just starting out that aren't quite ready for super bold colors. I have done many different variations of natural looks and have found the following to be my all time favorite. The products are inexpensive and last forever. I use this palette almost daily for work (I work 6 days a week) and it has lasted me 9 months so far and still has quite a bit of life left in it. 

ELF Beauty Book Natural Look Eyeshadow Palette

          This book is only $5.00 online and is well worth it. Something like this would cost minimum $20 if it were what is considered 'top end' brands, but this works just as well. It comes with an applicator, eye primer and a mini eyeliner in a brownish color. Personally, I used the eyeliner once but didn't much care for it as it was hard to blend and even hard to apply. The only way I could get it to go on smoothly was to hold a lighter to the end of it and melt it a bit. The primer however, is my favorite at the moment. It glides on smoothly and is very light and non greasy.

It comes with two different "sets" on the inside along with a guide on how to apply them properly. The left side is for a daytime look with the right being for an evening look. I like my crease a little bit darker so I mix and match.

Maybe not the best swatches in existence but it still portrays the colors pretty accurately. The above look has the daytime colors. The highlight (top) color is very light. Just enough to add that little extra emphasis of color on your brow bone. The lid (middle) color is a pretty, shimmery pinkish/brown. The crease (bottom) color is a very light brown; sort of what I would describe as hazelnut.

          The evening colors are much, much darker. The highlight color is what I would consider a mixture of the daytime highlight with the daytime lid color. Sort of a very pale rose with a tint of white. The lid color being a deep coffee color with the crease color being a deep, dark brown. The crease color on the evening look has a little bit of glitter in the shadow, which you can't see much at all in this picture.

          I like to mix up the colors when I do my daily look. I almost always use the lightest color in the palette for my highlight color. If I am going super natural, I use the highlight color on my brow bone only, or for a little extra pop, I will use the nighttime highlight on my brow bone, and use the daytime highlight on the inner corners of my eye.
          I like to go two toned with my lid color, so I will use the nighttime highlight on the inner side of my lid and apply it halfway out and on the other half I will use the daytime lid color. I will apply as much as I need to get the desired look/intensity.
          Finally, for the crease, I will almost always use the nighttime lid color as it isn't very strong once it is applied. If I am going for a smokier natural eye, I will add the nighttime crease color to the outer corners of my eye and blend it all together. Blending is very important. Otherwise, you will end up with really awful harsh lines.
          The last thing I do, on occasion, is to add a very small dab of the daytime highlight (or nighttime highlight depending on which variation I am going for) to the very center of my lid to sort of open everything up through all the dark browns. It add's a little extra highlight to the center of the whole look.

Here are a couple photos:

These are cell phone pictures from a couple months back, so unfortunately they have some instagram filters on them, making them a little bit blurry. But I think you can get the idea. The top photo is my very basic variation for an acceptable daytime look and the bottom is more of the evening look, although it isn't too harsh for the day. But like I said, I tend to mix up the colors depending on how I am feeling and the outfit worn that day. 

Learning to Contour

          I skipped a few steps in the process (doh!) but I hope you at least mildy enjoy the pictures that follow...

           I have done a lot of research on the proper ways and products to contour your face correctly and have learned in the process that everyone has their own method and tricks that work best for them that are based off of the same rules. With all of the countless videos I have watched, I have seen big and small women contour their face flawlessly, making their faces look thinner and look as though they came straight out of a magazine. I have also seen some pretty horrible (and really funny) fails. I'd like to think I did it right, but I'll let you be the judge of that. 

          I have many brushes that I use and some that I don't, because honestly, some of them I don't even really know what they are for but slowly but surely I am putting them all to good use. I tend to improvise at times on what I think a brush should or could be used for. That is one thing I have learned: if it gets the job done, who says you can only use that particular brush for one particular thing. After all, makeup (if done well) is sort of an art, right? Do and use what works best for you.

Here is an un-contoured face. ^^^^ This picture is a little old, but not by much so it is still relevant in what I am trying to describe. There is zero dimension to my face in this picture. I love this picture still, but knowing what I know now, I would have done a lot of things differently.

The products used for the following pictures:

-Loreal Invisalift Foundation 

(applied with MAC brush #191 flat foundation brush)

- Almay Wake Up Under Eye Concealer 

(applied with bare minerals concealer brush)

-Bare Minerals Original Mineral Powder Foundation

(used very lightly as a setting powder)

-POP Bronzer in Sunkissed

(Used for Contouring)

- NYX Baked Blush in LadyLike

-E.L.F. All Over Color Stick 

(used as a highlight on the very tops of my cheek bones)

-Urban Decay Cream Highlighter in the color SIN 

(Discontinued. I use this stuff sparingly. I LOVE IT! I used it down the length of my nose, right above my top lip and along the bottom line of my chin.)

Goodness! That's a mouth full of products, just for my face! However, the end result is fantastic.

(This picture is a sort of halfway mark during the process. You can always add more. It's hard to take it away once you've started.)

I wish I had gone through the steps of all that I did on this picture but I think I pretty much aced it. Okay, add a little bit of a different sleep schedule and a maybe a few extra lbs, and that's how you get those giant bags under my eyes. Maybe it's genetics, who knows. The difference a little bit of bronzer and highlighter can make is amazing to me! Again, this is my first time so be gentle with me. I will point out that when I went to talk to my boyfriend, after disappearing into the bathroom for a couple of hours he did tell me I had a giant brown line going from my ear to the corner of my mouth that I had missed. Blending is key! Blend, blend, blend and blend some more! Otherwise you're going to end up with all sorts of funky lines on your face.

After applying all foundation, concealer (which I apply in a triangle from under my eyes down to the sides of my nose) and setting powder, I took a clean angled foundation brush applied bronzer along my jaw line (stopping right before the square of my chin). I also applied it to the area right below my cheek bone from the corner of my mouth in a straight line to my ear and then curved around to my temples and brought it up to the sides of my forehead. Before blending, I applied my blush but made sure not to apply it directly to the apples of my cheeks. This is a step that I have been doing wrong for so many years until recently. If you add blush directly to the apples of your cheeks, it will actually make your face look a little bigger; unless of course you already have a really thin face. I have a setting powder that I bought from ELF cosmetics that is translucent in color when applied, but the powder itself is white so I used that to highlight the area between the bronzer under my cheek bone and right above the bronzer line on my jaw. Then I took a clean powder foundation brush and just blended it all together. I tried to keep the lines together, so as not to just spread bronzer all over my face, but you have to blend those lines together in order to get the desired end result.

So there ya have it. A little contouring 101. 

Next up? Eyeshadow!!

July 2014 Ipsy Glam Bag

         

           As promised, here is my review of my Ipsy July Glam Bag. While I love my bag and I am excited about 4 out 5 products, I have to say I am a little tiny bit disappointed. Anyone can go online and see what is going to be a part of the bag, which is half of the fun,  but the true size of the items received aren't really reflected to 100% accuracy. Some of the sizes were as I expected I feel like the Bare Minerals 5-in-1 was super disappointing. I understand that it is a makeup sample subscription and all but I think if I were them, I would have made this one just a teeny tiny bit bigger. 

 Here is a peek into my bag...

Bare Minerals 5-in-1 BB Cream Eyeshadow

I got this in the color Divine Wine. The color is a deep(ish) purple/brown.

Will I use it? Yes. Will I love it? Definitely. Will I buy it? Maybe. The size of the tube is maybe the length of my pinky finger including the applicator, but I have pretty small hands so that doesn't say much. I haven't gotten much out of it besides a hand swatch of the color. Even though the sample size is super small, I am trying to stay optimistic in that I feel like a little goes a long way with this product. I haven't used much besides their original formula mineral powder, but I love the brand overall just based off of that.  So we will see. I am positive I will put a look together and put it here to share with you all

According to the Bare Eccentuals website the 5-in-1 has the following benefits:

              12 Hour Long-wearing color

 super charged primer

 powerful brightening benefits

 Soothes the appearance of fine lines

 and 

 has an SPF of 15

The full product size costs about $18.00

HealthySexyHair Soy Renewal Beach Spray

Honestly, after reading the reviews of this product, I thought that I was going to love it. I spoke with a couple of the girls on the ipsy message boards who also have naturally curly hair and they all said that beach spray has done amazing things for them, so naturally I was hopeful.

WRONG.

I just tried it tonight for the first time and my hair was sort of stiff and frizzy and had zero body to it whatsoever. I have to admit that I didn't let my hair dry 100% and probably should have just given some time, but I just couldn't deal with the situation I saw in the mirror. I had to go re-wet my hair and go through my whole hair routine and fix it; and given the fact that I let my hair air dry, this shaved at least 2 hours off of my sleep time for the evening. I think I might give it one more shot when I have a full day to devote to it, but as it stands now, I hate this stuff.

Full size product size costs about $20.00 and the overall rating on this product online is 4.5 stars 

(Clearly I disagree)

Hang Ten Dark Tanning Oil

A lot of women got a little too bent out of shape about this product on the official Ipsy page. I know, I know, tanning is horrible for your skin and can lead to all sorts of problems later on down the road. With the fact that protecting your skin seems to be the thing these days, I think that this might not have been the best item to include in their item. However, this bag is all about summer time and there are still people out there who choose to tan. Am I going to use this? Yes. Will I use it for tanning? Probably not. I have pretty fair skin and I don't get a whole lot of time in the sun so I would burn almost instantly if I put this on for those purposes. I'll take my sunscreen and enjoy the little bits of sun that get through that just fine.

However, this product is full of all sorts of oils that are good for your skin:

Aleurites Moluccana (ORGANIC Kukui) Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel (ORGANIC Argan) Oil, Canola Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Cocos Nucifera (ORGANIC Coconut) Oil, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Euterpe Oleracea (ORGANIC Acai) Fruit Extract, Flavor, Helianthus Annuus (ORGANIC Sunflower) Seed Oil, Isopropyl Myristate, Macadamia Ternifolia (ORGANIC) Seed Oil, Olea Europaea (ORGANIC Olive) Fruit Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Silybum Marianum (ORGANIC Lady’s Thistle) Extract

So while this product might not be the best idea for use in the sun, why not use it on your hands, elbows or knees? Why not use it to add a little extra nourishment to those tricky areas on your body that just don't seem to stay hydrated? Or, if you have long hair that tends to get dry on the ends, why not use it there to try and bring some life back to them without getting a hair cut?

Just an idea...

This item runs about $11.99 for the full size

Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm

I love this little stick.. A lot. The stick that was included in the bag is about half the size of the full size product, but unless I use it like a madwoman, I think it will last quite some time. The color I received is called Pretty Pink which is a lot lighter than the color in this photo. It sort of reminds me of a Barbie hot pink color, if that makes sense. The crazy thing to me is that two different people could be wearing the same color balm, but have it look a little different on each person. The item descriptions that I read all over the internet say that the color varies based off of the PH level of your lips. So, while you have the idea of the color, it's almost like it customizes to your lips just for you. I like that idea. 

I wore this most of the day today, even though my boyfriend hates pink lipstick for whatever reason. Ha. I absolutely fell in love with this and will wear it regardless. :) 

The full size product costs about $14.00 

And last but not least...

POP Beauty Bronzer

This was my 1 and only full sized product in my bag this month, and I LOVE this. I have never really used bronzer before in fear of over doing it or using the wrong color and making myself look too dark. This is going to last forever and I plan on using to to start learning the contouring process. The color I received is called Sunkissed and it is described perfectly. It's slightly shimmery and just barely gives you that natural glow of a soft tan. 

This item alone in it's full size (which I received) costs $10.00 which is the cost of the monthly subscription. 

The full value of my bag, based off of the full sized product prices and reduced to the sizes that were received (this required a lot of math which I am not very good at on a day to day basis, haha) came to about $34.00 

Not too bad. Even if I only really loved one item out of the 5, this is 100% worth the money.