Just wanted to let you guys know that I updated my portfolio!
People have been asking where I post my portfolio and the link is actually up at the top of the page where it says Portfolio. 
I normally just ramble about new beauty products and tips on my blog but if you want to see the work I’ve been doing, click here!
I hope you guys have a great week and I’ll be sure to post something up after I get this microbiology midterm over with. GAAAAAH!
Hey guys!
I just wanted to let you know that Sephora’s Friends and Family Sale is going on now until November 2nd. It’s online only and you can get your discount code here. However, it is a one time use code only, so make sure you get everything that you want! This a great time to pick up products that you’ve been thinking about getting, or you can do some Christmas shopping instead! I know there’s a few things that I’ve been eyeing that I will definitely be getting, let me know what you guys get!
Last week I took another visit to Salon 25 to do something new for fall. They recently renovated the salon so stop by sometime to see what’s new! I had been sporting a nice goldenish-brownish color for the summer and I wanted to darker for the upcoming season. I have been wanting to go red for a while so I figured, why not! Moya did an amazing job once again with my color and I love the way it looks. I might even want to take it more red the next time I come in!
Now, red is probably the hardest color to maintain when you dye your hair. Okay, I may be totally off on this, but I think it’s because the dye particles in red color are bigger than any other color so it has a hard time staying in your hair. In order to keep my color lasting as long as it can, I’ve been doing a few things differently with my hair routine. First, I don’t wash my hair everyday. I know, I know, you’re not even supposed to wash your hair every day to begin with but I am a creature of habit and that’s what I’ve been doing since I was young! I try to go at least every other day without washing my hair and in between washes, I use dry shampoo. The one I am current using is called Pssssst! and I love it. I got it at CVS and it’s pretty inexpensive. It’s in an aerosol spray can so it’s easy to use, unlike the powder ones which is why I used to avoid dry shampoo. When I do wash my hair, I use Redken Color Extend shampoo and conditioner. This shampoo has UV filters in it so it helps protect your hair from sun damage, which is another reason why hair color fades so fast.
If you’re looking for another kind of shampoo to use, I would recommend using something that is sulfate free. Sulfates in shampoos are what make your shampoo lather but it’s really stripping the color out of your hair. There are a lot more sulfate-free shampoos out there now, and there are a few that are pretty affordable. If you’re on a budget I would suggest using L’oreal’s Everpure shampoo and if you want to splurge a little bit, Paul Mitchell’s Awapuhi Wild Ginger Moisturizing Shampoo is amazing. The entire line of Awapuhi products is amazing! It makes my hair so soft and shiny and the smell is to die for. I’m probably going to be using this shampoo next when I run out of the one I’m using right now!
Well that’s all for now everyone! I hope you’re having a great week so far
Hey everyone! I’m sorry for not blogging in such a long time…school is really keeping me busy! Anyway I have a ton of different stuff lined up for you guys so make sure to keep an eye out for that! Today I wanted to share how I depot my eyeshadows into palettes. In order to keep everything neat and organized, I like to take my eyeshadows out of their containers or “pots” and put them into palettes. Now, there are many different palettes out there, and I’ll link a few of them at the bottom, but I like to use the MAC palette that holds 15 eyeshadows. I like this palette because it has an individual spot for each eyeshadow and it’s easy to move things around. Now here’s what you’ll need!
The first thing you’re going to want to do is separate the casing of the eyeshadow from the actual plastic that’s holding on to it. For example, if you’re trying to depot a MAC eyeshadow, there will be a small ridge that you can wedge the paring knife or tweezers between to take the top portion that contains the shadow off.
Now you’re going to want to make sure that your flat iron is nice and hot. Place your eyeshadow on top of one of the hot plates of the flat iron, making sure that you use the hand towel or wax paper as a barrier. Let it sit for a little while until the plastic becomes pliable. Now I like to use the pliers to cut off a small piece of the plastic so it is easier to take the eyeshadow out.
With the pan now exposed, I use the small paring knife once again to separate the eyeshadow pan from it’s holder. The heat from the flat iron has melted the glue that holds the eyeshadow to it’s casing together, so it should be pretty easy to remove.
I also like to take the label with name of the eyeshadow off of the container and I do that by running the container over the flat iron for just a few seconds so it makes it easy to peel the sticker off. Then I place the sticker on the bottom of the pan. You can also place a small piece of magnet onto the bottom of the pan to make sure it stays secure in your palette.
Recommended palettes:
Stars Makeup Heaven 28 Palette
Z Palette
MAC Palette
This is by far the easiest way I’ve been able to depot my eyeshadows, I hope I helped you guys out! 😀
I’ve been going a little crazy lately with MAC, especially since they launched their new MAC Me Over collection. Over the past week I’ve picked up some things for myself since I just recently cleaned up my makeup drawers! I’ll break these down into full reviews later on, I just wanted to show you guys what I’ve been playing with lately!
I also went to MAC’s Make Me Over event last week which was so much fun! They were giving makeovers to customers and took before and after pictures. Justin stole my after picture so I’ll have to take a picture of it when I can to share with you guys.
From left to right: Mineralize skin finish in Give Me Sun, Mineralize blush in Warm Soul and Strobe Cream.
Since it’ll (hopefully) be getting cooler soon, I bought the mineralize skin finish to use as a bronzer to warm up my face when I start to lose my tan. I also bought warm soul to use as an everyday blush, it’s very neutral with a minimal amount of shimmer. Strobe cream is an amazing moisturizer that I’ve been using on clients for a while now and I finally gave in and bought some for myself. It’s got a small amount of sheen to it, which gives your skin a nice glowly look when it’s on. I use this in the morning after I wash my face and before I put on my foundation. I know some people who mix strobe cream in with their foundation, I have yet to try it but I’ll definitely try it out and let you guys know how it goes!
When I went into MAC for my makeover last week the makeup artist who worked with me used these products on me and I knew I had to have them. I’m not a big fan of buying the palettes that MAC comes out with in their collections but I knew I had to get these after I had my make up done. The two palettes actually work really well together and are such great colors for fall. I’ve been so used to using neutral colors as of late, I thought it would be fun to add a little bit more color into my collection. I also bought the haute & naughty mascara which has been doing wonderful things for my eyelashes. It gives my lashes so much volume and length that I’ve been asked if my lashes were real a few times! I know, I know, I will always love my drugstore mascara, but I couldn’t resist buying this mascara. Lastly, I picked up two shadesticks in street cool and butternutty, which I’ve been using as eyeshadow bases. What I really like about shadesticks is that they really stay on the skin. When I swatched it in the store I was expecting it to be really creamy and easy to move around but right when it was on my hand it wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I tried to take it off. These are really great because not only do they keep your eyeshadow on all day, they’s super easy to use and it’s not messy when you apply it.
Well that’s all for now. School’s started again so…I guess I should get back to studying. Happy Wednesday everyone!
Hey Everyone! Sorry for not posting in such a long time, August has been super busy with celebrating both Justin’s and my birthday! And a happy belated birthday to the amazing and talented Justin Element!
So I just wanted to share with you guys a super easy and fast way to get your nails to dry fast after you’ve painted them. I am notorious for messing up my nail polish while they are drying but I picked up this trick and it’s been working wonders. After you paint your nails, keep your fingers in cold water for about a minute or so and when you take them out of the water, your nails will be dry! I’m not entirely sure what causes this to happen but it’s been keeping my nails nice and neat and I don’t have to redo my nails anymore when I paint them. I like to just take an old container or tupperware and fill it with ice water before I paint my nails so I can dip my nails in the water right away after painting them. This works really well if you’re going to use crackle nail polish because for that, your base color needs to be completely dry before you use the crackle polish or else it won’t work properly.
I hope this tip has helped you guys out and I have a ton of stuff to blog about so I’ll be posting soon, promise!
Here’s just a couple pictures of the nail art I attempted today. I actually was inspired to do these since I saw a tutorial from bubzbeauty and they were so cute I couldn’t pass it up! If you haven’t watched any of her tutorials you guys should definitely look her up on YouTube.
Haha they’re kind of messy, but I like them! I think they look okay for doing nail art for the first time.
A panda! Sorry for the messy paint job…I was in a rush today!
And cupcake! Okay…so it looks more like a monster than a cupcake, but if you just squint your eyes a lot, it kind of looks like it right?
Oh oh oh! And Justin got me a new camera for my birthday! It’s beautiful. Now I can actually take amazing pictures of products/swatches for you guys so you can get a better idea of how the products look 😀 Thanks babe!
I’ve written briefly about Inglot before, when Justin and I went to New York. I figured now it’s time to actually put a review up about their freedom system! For those who are unfamiliar with Inglot Cosmetics, the Freedom System is pretty much exactly as it sounds. You have the option to choose anywhere from a palette of 5 to a palette of 40. These palettes are pretty heavy, but personally I like the weight because I know that it’s safer while I’m traveling. However, I don’t think I’d ever use the 40 palette because that one is just way too heavy to put in my kit. You can either buy the eye shadows in circle pans or square pans, the square pans are a little bit more expensive since each individual pan holds more product but I think that it’s worth it. For example, if you buy a palette of 10 circle pans (while they vary in weight, the average circle pan is about 1.3 grams), I believe Inglot charges $45 while the 10 palette of square pans (which is on average, 2.8 grams) is $50. So pretty much, you’re paying five more dollars for a lot more product. It’s pretty overwhelming when you do the freedom system at Inglot, when you walk in the store, there’s a huge table set up in the middle dedicated just to the freedom system–there’s a ton of different colored eye shadows, lip colors, and blushes that are just waiting to be swatched.
Whenever I go to Inglot, I feel like I just need to spend the entire day there to pick out exactly what I need. With so many colors to choose from, it’s a little difficult to actually pick out what you want. The problem I run into is that I end up picking too many colors and then I have a hard time trying to narrow it down to what will fit in the palette. I’m not entirely sure about this when you go to the store since I always fill up a palette, but online, the prices change depending on how many pans you buy. Basically, the more you buy, the cheaper each individual pan is. I have a feeling that you have to fill the palette that you choose on getting though, since each palette has a price, which includes all the colors that you choose.
I haven’t bought any lip colors or blushes through the freedom system, so I’m just going to review the eyeshadows today. There are five different finishes which are
Pearl: the color has a satin or frosty look to it but does not have any glitter or sparkles in it
Matte: flat color with no shimmer
Double Sparkle: I’d say that eyeshadows with this finish actually have a matte base, with a lot of glitter disbursed in it
AMC: This stands for “advanced makeup component”. Like the eyeshadows that have the double sparkle finish, the bases colors for AMC are actually matte, but have glitter throughout the shadow. However, it is definitely less sparkly than the double sparkle eyeshadows.
AMC Shine: These, like the AMC eyeshadows, have glitter throughout the entire eyeshadow, but the base color has a satin finish to it.
Inglot has recently released a number of new matte eyeshadows and they are fantastic! The problem I usually run into with matte eyeshadows is that they don’t have very good color payoff and it’s very difficult to blend out colors but Inglot’s matte shadows are extremely easy to blend and the color payoff is amazing. Their eyeshadows are made of a drier formula, which can lead to fallout, it can easily be avoided by: rolling the color onto your brush instead of patting it on, and tapping off any excess color before actually applying it to your eyelid.
If you’re ever out near Fashion Island, be sure to stop by Inglot and have a look around! The quality is great and the prices are very reasonable.
With it being so hot lately, I’ve really been trying to keep myself hydrated–skin included. Once a week, I’ve been using this facial mask made from just plain yogurt and oatmeal, and it’s been working wonders! Whenever I use it, my skin always feels refreshed and hydrated afterwards. I haven’t broken out from it at all, and along with washing my face with the oatmeal cleanser I posted about a couple of weeks ago, my skin has never looked better! I wanted to share this facial mask with you guys, it’s a really effective and budget friendly way to keep your skin nice and refreshed.
Oatmeal Yogurt Mask
Equal parts of oatmeal and plain yogurt (I use about a 1.5 tablespoons each)
*remember to use plain yogurt and plain oatmeal!
I pretty much take the mask and apply a fairly heavy layer onto my face and leave it on for about 20 minutes. It’ll dry up a little bit but don’t worry, it washes off away easily with some warm water. After you wash your face off you should see and feel results immediately. I noticed that my skin looked a lot brighter and it felt so so so hydrated. I’ve always been skeptical about using homemade remedies for my skin, but after seeing how well this mask and oatmeal cleanser has treated me, I don’t think I’m ever going to go back to store bought facial products! I’ve already talked about how oatmeal is good for the skin in my post about the facial cleanser, but plain yogurt can brighten skin, reduce redness, shrink your pores, and it definitely hydrates your skin. I hope this helps you guys out, and let me know how it works if any of you try it!
A couple of weeks ago, I was sent a few products from Hard Candy for consideration. I’ve purchased a few things from them while they were at Sephora, but now Hard Candy can be easily purchased for a very reasonable price at every Wal-Mart. I love love love Hard Candy’s packaging for their products, it’s so unique and really stands out whenever I’m sorting through my makeup drawers. So now it’s time for the review!
Just Face It One Step Foundation
According to the description it states that it is a one step foundation that is your primer, concealer, foundation and powder all in one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a foundation like this anywhere. Before I used it, I thought it was a liquid foundation but when I actually opened the product, its consistency is more of a mousse or cream foundation. It has a very very slight smell, but once you apply it on your skin, it isn’t noticeable at all. The sample that was sent to me was actually a little light for my skin tone, but I swatched a bit of it on my jawline and it blended out smoothly. However, at the end of the day, I did notice that it oxidized a little bit so there was just a tiny hint of orange that I noticed, but it wasn’t bad at all. What I like about this foundation is that their color range caters to yellow undertones, which can be hard to find when you’re shopping for drugstore foundations. It is a medium coverage foundation but you can build it to be full coverage and the finish is pretty matte. This foundation definitely doesn’t budge either. When I swatched this on my arm, I had to actually use makeup remover to get it all off, so the description of this foundation definitely keeps true to its word about being a primer as well. I would use my stippling brush to apply this foundation because I like to have a sheer application of foundation for my face. I would probably set this foundation with a powder as well, just because I’m always paranoid that foundation moves around during the day. All in all, I would recommend this foundation if you’re looking for an affordable matte, medium coverage foundation and will probably end up picking up a bottle the next time I need to buy a new foundation.
Mouthing Off Sheer Lip Shine in Love Dove
When I first looked at this lip gloss, I couldn’t help but notice how pink and shimmery it was. I usually tend to avoid buying any kind of lip gloss that looks like this just because I really like the focus of my makeup to be my eyes, so having bright lips is just too much for my daily makeup. However, when I actually tried it on, I couldn’t believe how sheer and wearable it is. It’s perfect for just wearing by itself or for giving your lipstick a nice shine. The glitter in it isn’t chunky, it just gives a nice shimmer when you’re wearing it. What I like most about this lip gloss is that it doesn’t feel sticky at all which is something I always look for in a lip gloss. I normally like to only wear lip balm on my lips for my every day makeup, but I can see myself reaching for this whenever I want something a little bit different. The packaging is cute, but since there’s a white cover on the bottom half of the container, I can’t really tell when I’m going to run out of product. It also comes with a doe foot applicator which I actually like more than a brush applicator which is something I’m seeing more frequently when I buy lip gloss. I think I would end up picking up another one of these when I run out, but I’m curious to see how the other colors look. Since it’s such a sheer application it doesn’t deposit too much color, just a nice sheer layer that gives a lot of shine.
Kal-eye-descope Baked Eyeshadow Duo in Secret Rendezvous
Hard Candy sells a baked/mineralized eyeshadow which is something that is becoming more and more popular as of late. They have a variety of different eyeshadow duos which is nice, because if you’re on the go and need just something small to put in your makeup bag, these duos provide you with a nice lid and crease color. The eyeshadow duo that was sent to me was in two shades of pink. I normally don’t like to use pink too much when I’m playing with eyeshadows because pink tends to make me look very tired. However, these colors swatched nicely, and I was able to use the darker pink as a crease color and it was neutral enough to wear I didn’t look too tired. Baked eyeshadows can be applied either wet or dry. Applying your eyeshadows wet give it a more intense, vibrant color which I do use from time to time. However, please remember that you can only do this with your baked eyeshadows or mineralized eyeshadows. If you do this with normal shadows, you’ll end up ruining it and it won’t apply the same again. Applied dry, the two colors were pretty sheer, and I had to go over the colors again to get the desired colors I wanted. They’re also a little bit powdery so you’ll really have to pack on the color and a bit on the shimmery side. While they are very nice colors and would recommend them to anyone who is trying to build up their makeup collection, I don’t think I would purchase these just because I’m not too big of a fan of baked eyeshadows and I try to stay away from eyeshadows that are shimmery, but that is all just preference.
Take a chance to check out Hard Candy! They’ve got a great selection of makeup, and would really recommend their Just Face It foundation and their sheer lip shines.
FTC: Products sent for consideration.
We all know that oatmeal is good for your diet but did you know that it does amazing things for your skin as well? During and after finals week, I was breaking out along my temples and thought it was just some stress. So I washed my face like I normally did and waited….and waited…and waited. Even a few weeks after finals my skin still hadn’t gotten better, in fact, it looked like it was getting worse. That’s when I really started to take notice that the facial cleanser I used at night was really harsh on my skin. I would wash my face and it would make my skin really red and irritated and I kept using it thinking that it would make my pimples go away. Finally, after about two weeks of having to deal with bad skin, I finally decided to go the natural route for my facial cleaner. I used to make yogurt masks (which I have to do a DIY one because it did amazing things for my skin) and remembered reading how oatmeal is good for the skin as well. I didn’t even realize it, but the lotion I use is derived from oats as well! After using my homemade oatmeal, I noticed a huge difference in how my skin looked and felt, even after using it just once! I swear, two days after I started washing my face with oatmeal, my pimples were pretty much gone. Have you ever noticed that your skin can feel really dry after using a face wash that you buy from the store? When I wash my face with this oatmeal cleanser, my face feels so smooth, bright, and hydrated. I didn’t even know your skin is supposed to feel like that after you wash your face!
So why does oatmeal make such a good cleanser? It removes the dirt from your skin while exfoliating your skin naturally which is great because you know exactly what you’re putting on your skin (unlike buying face washes at the store where I can’t even pronounce half of the products they use in it). It’s really helped with the dry, red patches that I used to get on my skin when I was using store bought cleansers and I really love how hydrated my skin feels after I wash my face. Even though my break out has finally gone away, I still wash my face with this oatmeal cleanser twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, because I just love how great my skin is looking.
(This is about how much I use every time I wash my face–roughly about a tablespoon.)
The great thing about this cleanser is that it’s easy to make and it’s super cheap! All you’ll need is oatmeal and water. I like to use steel cut oats but just use any kind of plain oatmeal you have. I’ll stress the plain oatmeal part though–don’t try to use any kind of flavored ones! I’m pretty sure if you do that, it’ll just irritate your skin even more. I take a small amount, about enough to fit in my palm and run it under warm water until the oatmeal gets nice and soft. When you apply it to your face it should should feel soft. If it feels scratchy, run it under the water for a couple more seconds. I massage the oats onto my face for about a minute and wash it away with warm water. Again, I do this twice a day and I really don’t think I’ll be buying a facial cleanser any time soon which is great because that saves me some money!
I hope this was helpful for you guys and if you decide to try this out, let me know how things go!
