Thursday, February 12, 2015

Tribal Tattoo Eye Makeup using a cream liner



Tribal Tattoo Eye Makeup


♥︎ Hey guys! ♥︎

So, this is actually my second attempt in doing my eye makeup using this dark blue gel liner.  (for more details, please view my previous blog post)
I also used the same brush as I did for my first attempt.  

The reason I decided to redo it all was because I did not like the end result...not the design I created, but how the liner looked.  It dried up cakey, cracky and uneven. The intensity in the colour was not great. I was disappointed to say the least because I loved the design!!  It was intricate and beautiful!  I will post a picture at the end of this blog :)

Though....., I did do something that I should not have...I layered a lot of concealer underneath as my base for the liner.  I think the thickness of the concealer didn't help the brush to have a better grip on my skin and made it crack....So yes, a thinner layer, perhaps, should have sufficed.

Hence, my second attempt!  I did not want to give it a bad review.  It deserved a second chance :)

So here's the liner down below.
It does look black but it is a dark midnight blue when applied.



Here is the liner as shown in my previous blog post.
The liner is great!  The bristles keeps it's form/shape and doesn't go all over the place. 



How does it look? ♥︎

My lil' munchkin (age 7) told me:  " Mama, you look way too made up!"
- no kidding, Sweety!  I'm not gonna go out looking like this!  It's just for pictures :)


So, my comment after my second attempt:

- A thinner concealer DID HELP for the liner and the brush to glide on my face, hence a better application.  The liner does need an extra coating to bring out the colours and to "fill in" the edges but overall a much better result.  It dried up nicely, evenly and loved the whole look :)
It was very easy to remove as well!  A couple of eye makeup wipes and then a whole wash using a charcoal cleanser washed it all away without any irritation or scrubbing.


♥︎



Here's what I used on rest of my face.

Foundation is by Marcelle.  (Our local brand!)
I used #2 all over, concentrating mainly on my T-Zone.
I used #3 to contour top of forehead, under cheekbones and under my chin.



For the concealer, I used one of my faves which is this one by Cover FX.  It is one of my "Must-Haves" in my makeup kit for models & brides.  It has enough orange to cover up any blue undertones under eyes and to cover up any acne scars.  A little goes a long way :)



On my cheeks for more of a "tanned" look, I used this bronzer to bronze up my cheeks.  Also by Marcelle.





Here is one of my latest obsession!

It's a highlighting pencil by Marcelle.  It's got the pencil on one end and a sponge smudger on the other.
For this look, I used this pencil on top of my lid / under brows / top of brows / inner corner to add extra highlight.  
This pencil goes on creamy but dries fast.  You've got enough time to use the sponge to smudge it all around to smooth any edges, and the result is POW-WOW!  Great on photos!
I have already used it on photoshoots and on my upcoming Brides.  They have it in several colours but this one is, by far, my fave!




 A touch of red butter lip balm by NYX to tint-up my dried lips!
Review:  Moisturizing, easy to apply.  Does dry up on my lips after awhile but the colour stayed.  No terrible taste nor fragrance so that's a plus :)



♥︎

So here it is! ....Here's how it looked on my first attempt!
See how the colour is blotchy and you can see some cracks and unevenness on some areas.  I had fun with the design, tho! ♥︎




Wednesday, February 4, 2015

What's in my kit? - Pantone Palette



Today's featured product from my makeup kit is,
my Pantone Universe Shadow Palette from Sephora!





The metallic palette came in a cardboard case.







My girls first thought it was an iPad!
Sure looks like one :)

This metallic palette comes with a nice big mirror,
and these beautiful shimmering metallic eyeshadows in 35 shades.





Can you tell which two colours are my favorite ones? :)

My two fave colours are:  Cinder Pantone 17-15706 (medium toned mauve-grey)
and Silver Peony Pantone 12-1206 (light shimmery baby pink)

One is great to contour and the other to highlight to give a modern-chic look.  I used them a lot on my Brides and on some advertisement shoots.




Back of the case


Name of all the shades

I love this palette♥︎  
The size of the palette does not reflect how light it is! It does not weigh down my kit so that really helps out a makeup artist who travels for their clients.
It's my go-to-palette for a nice simple shimmery contemporary look that can be chic, classy or cute.


♥︎

#sephora #pantonepalette #makeupartist #mymakeupkit #gotopalette #eyeshadows #shimmering #metallic 


Monday, February 2, 2015

What's in my Ipsy Bag!! : January 2015



♥︎   ipsy january 2015  ♥︎

Happy "belated" new year everyone!
明けましておめでとうございます★
Bonne année à tous!

Here are all the goodies inside my Ipsy Bag for the month of january!
Always so exciting!  A bag of candies will do nothing for me, ... but this!  This will get me to doing cartwheels, jumping jacks and smile from ear to ear :)
(Click on the name of each product to get to their official website!)







♥︎







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♥︎




One side is white, and bright blue on the other!
Love the orange zipper.






♥︎











♥︎

Test & Reviews to follow ♪


Thursday, November 6, 2014

My Ipsy Glam Bag review! - October 2014



♥︎ My Ipsy Glam Bag review! ♥︎
- October 2014 -



Here they are, all of 'em out of the bag!

I get so excited!! :)

♥︎★♥︎★♥︎


Alright, first off... MICA Beauty Cosmetics Shimmer Powder
Colour:  34 Harliquin

So this powder eye shadow is a mineral makeup that is extremely gentle, free of preservatives and chemicals, dyes, talc, oil and other filters.  I like that all of their products are 100% natural!

My review:  I love it!  First reaction was (before unwrapping and opening the container) "Oh no, this is going to be messy!".  I have had many messy experiences with potted powdered eye shadows and they all end op on my fingers, hands and countertop rather than on my eyes.  BUT, this one! Oh, they thought well :)  This one has a second lid inside with 3 tiny little holes so the powder doesn't come out unless you tap on it upside down!  It is contained well and thanks to that, it is not messy!

Now let's talk about the pigment!

What you see is what you get!  The colour is exactly the same in the container as it is on the skin which is fantastic!  And not only that, it may be in a loose form of a powder, however, the powder stays on your brush until you place the pigment on your eye lid...and it stays put as well!  Again, not messy what so ever :)  I did not have to end up wiping away pigments off of my cheeks.

Thumbs up on consistency, pigment, quality. And to top it all off, it's all natural :) Ah-may-zing!



♥︎★♥︎★♥︎



Next up, lashes!

Now, this brand, "Kiss", happens to be my go-to-brand when it comes to false lashes for my beautiful Brides!!  Not only they look and feel natural, they are made of 100% real human hair!  So no wonder they feel great on all day!  

Here is a pic to show you my before and after this pair of false lashes.

What a difference it makes! And it looks absolutely natural!  Great for everyday wear, a night out and for weddings! :)



♥︎★♥︎★♥︎




Down to the lips!

Brand:  Starlooks...? ...Hum, never heard of it!
Colour:  LG46 Guilty Pleasure

My Review:  OMG, yummy smell!  Picturing vanilla...cupcake...lots and lots of thick creamy vanilla icing with sprinkles!!! ....hence the name!  Consistency: thick.  Application: ...errrrr ....errrrr ....errrrr .....mkay, I'm having a hard time with this!  It's very streaky, unfortunately.  Glides on smoothly but then I have to constantly go over the same spot over and over and over and over just to get the streaks smoothed out.  And the colour went on much lighter than what it seems just by looking at it, which I understand is normal for lip glosses and lipsticks to change colour as everyone's lip colour can alter the actual pigment...however, it was surprisingly lighter than how it looks.  

I am a little disappointed with the colour consistency, however, I would give it a thumb's up on the creamy thick texture and the smell.  



♥︎★♥︎★♥︎



Brand:  Ayres Body Butter in Patagonia

Here is their description on their site:
Enriched with plant emollients, herbal extracts and vitamins, this ultra rich creamy body butter provides relief from dry, rough skin. Vitamin E natural antioxidant provides protection to your skin while shea nut butter gives long-lasting hydration. Just drift away on a cool breeze of delicate jasmine and aromatic rosemary blended with lavender, bergamot, ylang-ylang, oakmoss, patchouli and fir. Inspired by Patagonia’s snow-capped mountains and blue lagoons, this fresh scent inspires a soothing sense of calm."

LOVE the description, no?

My review:  My very first reaction was..."It's just like Aveda!"referring it to the scent. No wonder! This body butter is also made of similar essential oil combinations as Aveda products!  Smells fantastic!!  It lingers for a good while, so for those who prefers less fragrance, this may not be the right product for you.  I, too, prefer less scented products as they make me nauseous.  However, natural essential oils are okey for me as they smell fresh as long as they are natural and real essential oils and not imitation, chemical ones.  

I can't stop smelling my arm!

Oh yeah, let's talk about the texture! lol
It's fantastic!  Very light in texture, surprising as it's labeled as "butter".  It is very easy to spread over skin. My skin doesn't feel heavy at all.  Takes a little time for it to get absorbed into the skin, however, once absorbed, the skin is left silky and soooofffffftttttt.   mmmmm


♥︎★♥︎★♥︎



Last product here, is an exfoliant.

I have not yet tested this product!  I'm sorry :)
I have been using St.Ives facial scrub to exfoliate my skin a couple of times a week, so I haven't felt the need to exfoliate my skin!  

Don't worry, I am still curious so I will try it out :)
Will keep you posted!


♥︎★♥︎★♥︎



All of these products came with this little pouch.  How cute is this!

Again, my two girls were fighting over who get's this one!
The conclusion?...My oldest won as my little one took the last pouch from September glam bag and used it as her personal pencil case.  So this one...goes to the oldest!  She is super happy as it is her favourite colour :)






Thursday, October 2, 2014





My ipsy September Glam bag review!
I know, I know... it's October already!
Better late than never! ♥︎



It is only my second glam bag from ipsy so far!  Here are the products I got for the month of September! :)

Cute silver makeup pouch with studs on it.  Very soft, not stiff.  My 7 yr old already snatched it out of my hands and claimed it hers

Nourish Organic Face Cleanser in Cucumber Watercress

 Mitchell and Peach English Growers Luxury Hand Cream in Flora N0.1

Pacifica 100% Vegan Cruelty-Free Nail Polish in Red Red Wine

Be a Bombshell Smooth Criminal Powder 100% Silica







I have been keeping this hand cream in my purse and have been using it a couple of times a day since I received it.  I honestly love it!  As most mothers may relate to this...we wash our hands constantly!  I mean CONSTANTLY!  I don't think there is a moment in my day where my hands are dry!  ( k. a little exaggeration)  And being a makeup & hair artist on top of that? I have this permanent sandpaper-gloves on my hand that just won't go away unless I scrape it off using a sandpaper...

We need to, obviously, nourish our hands with extra hydration.  We may find the time to pump some cream out onto our hands and roughly spread the cream all over...however, we do not have time for the cream to DRY!  I don't like creams that take forever to dry or to get absorbed into our skin.  I end up wiping the greasy-creamy residue off onto my pants, towels if they're some nearby.  

But this!  This creamy, easy-to-spread light white cream goes on like water as it is very fluid, and it absorbs into the skin in a blink of an eye!  It doesn't dry out, it really gets sinked into the skin leaving my hands very well nourished.  At first, I wasn't too sure as it left this sticky-like thick feeling on my hands.  As I kept using it, I realized if I  spread it over my hands and massaged it in just a little longer, that sticky feeling would go away leaving my hands feeling soft :)

And the smell!  Oh let me tell you about the smell!  I do not prefer any strong fragrance from any products as they make me nauseous!  This one, instead, has this lemony-flowery, but not too flowery, light garden scent that is very pleasant!  The scent doesn't linger around either :)

Here is their description :
" Blended with Vitamin E, Shea butter, and English Honey, this nourishing hand cream is fragranced with essential oils from the Mitchell Estate."

Oh!  The honey explains the "sticky-like feeling"!





Vegan!?  Oh la la, cooooool :)
I've had one nail polish that was vegan but never really had a change to use it and explore. So I was quite happy to receive one in my ipsy bag!

Having children, two girls but one being the fashion-diva, I cringe and walk away from putting something foreign on their skin and nails.  I don't understand parents who put nail polish on their baby's nails! To me, that's just not right...
Nail polish for my lil' 7 year old was something I allowed on a "only on special occasion" basis like birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's etc. and would only allow it to last a week at most.  
This vegan nail polish I, as a mommy, will cringe little less and feel guilty little less when putting it on my kids.  I mean, it sounds...healthier, right? 

But what does 100% vegan really mean?

I get the "Cruelty-free" part, don't need to google that, right?  It basically means it has not been tested on cutie-wootie animals. :) I'm happy about that!
But vegan...nail polish?  It basically means, without harsh chemicals that are considered harmful to your body.  The 3 main toxic ingredients are DBP, toluene and formaldehyde. DBP has been associated with birth defects (in animals...sadly), toluene is a mild skin irritant that can also be found in gasoline (yikes...) and formaldehyde...well, we all know that one from the biology class right?  The stinky liquid that help preserve organs...getting nauseous.

So yes, it is healthier and makes me a lot less paranoid when applying nail polish on my children.  I should think so for myself as well, and for my clients.
I googled this brand that was given to me...Pacifica and, get this!  Not only any of these 3 toxic ingredients are not being used, there are also 4 others that are omitted from this brand!  It is formulated without Phthalates, Xylene, Parabens, Camphor and Formaldehyde resin and no animal-derived ingredients.  Phew, that's a lot to articulate in one single breath, but definitely makes it less fearful about using them on anyone.

The rule of "only applying nail polish on special occasion" will still apply in my household, however, a ton of weight of fear, guilt and paranoia has been lifted off of my heart and I can breath a little better even if I don't remove the vegan nail polish after one week.  They can keep it on a little while longer :)





Woe!  Watch out!
Do NOT breath as you put on this powder! :P

I used a powder brush to put this powder on and, since it's a loose powder, obviously it goes off everywhere!  I was breathing normally and...cough cough cough cough!  Puwah! Arg!  Holy Schmoly!  I think I have just powdered my lungs!  

Aside from this horrific incident, the powder is great!  It has that starchy texture and it goes on very well, leaving my skin feeling silky :)  My skin was matted down and my pores did seem less noticeable.  I did a little research on this "silica" ingredient and, not to worry as I was when I first heard this word, it's not the dangerous kind of silica.  It's the safe kind to use on skin!  Silica absorbs moisture, perspiration and anything "wet", therefore it is recommended for oily skin.  It's not good for dry skin AT ALL since it will leave your skin looking dried out, cakey, wrinkled and flaky.




How cute is this word 
"Hikari" means "light" in japanese :)

This colour is called Cabernet.  It is not as creamy when applied, leaving it somewhat of a matted feel and texture, but is not a 100% matt lipstick.  The colour on my lips were true to the colour as seen in the container, which means the pigment is great :)
Couldn't tell if it was longlasting as I ate my lunch immediately after this photo was taken...as I am a person who removes all lip products before eating! :)
Felt good tho, didn't feel dry throughout the photoshoot :)

MADE IN PRC?

Both HIKARI lipstick & Bombshell powder had this written on their products and thought..."where?"
I googled it and found out that it is an abbreviation for "People's Republic of China".
Learned something new today :)

xo