On Saturdays We Play with Makeup

I know, I know… It has been a while since I actually posted something. I’ve been so busy with work and trying to create videos for my YouTube channel that I always forget to actually write. For today’s post, I will be sharing a new look I created using – mostly – new makeup.

Just as a little side note, I apply my makeup in somewhat of a weird order. Check out the look and steps below.

Step 1: Spray Urban Decay’s B6 Complexion Spray all over your face. This will help absorb any oils you may have on your face prior to primer and foundation application and will help get rid of any redness you may have.

Step 2: Gently rub Too Faced Hangover Rx Primer on your face. When using a water-based foundation, this is a great primer to use since there is no oil and helps hydrate your skin. For me, since the weather here in the Bay Area is still really cold, it helps with my dry skin.

Step 3: Apply five to six drops of Tarte Cosmetic’s Rainforest of the Sea foundation on a damp beauty blender and stipple on your face. This foundation is medium to full coverage and can easily be built up. I am in the color light sand. If you have use Too Faced’s Born This Way foundation, you’ll like this one. I am actually liking it a little bit better, but we’ll see how the day progresses.

Step 4: Once you have blended out your foundation to the coverage you’d like, apply the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea concealer and blend with your beauty blender. I am in the color light medium and usually apply concealer in a triangle under my eye, on my forehead, bridge of my nose, my laugh lines and on my chin.

Step 5: Set your foundation and concealer with a transluscent powder. I use the Bye-Bye Pores powder from it Cosmetics. I always apply a little more under my eye since the next step for me is my eyeshadow and the powder will help catch any fallout from the shadows and can then be wiped away easily.

Step 6: I fill in the gaps in my eye brows using Benefit Cosmetics Ka-Brow! in 4, as well as the Goof Proof Brow Pencil in 4.

Step 7: Next, take the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer and apply on lid up to brow bone. I then take a concealer brush and smooth it out.

Step 8: Now for the eyeshadow. For this look I use Colourpop’s new pressed powder shadows.

  1. Using an all-over eyeshadow brush, apply the color Firefly on your lid and up to the brow bone. This neutral color will help with blending other shadows.
  2. Using a fluffy blender brush, apply the color Made to Last generously in your crease and outer-V of your eye. Be sure to tap off excess color as these are powdery shadows, but have great color payout.
  3. Next, using a firmer blending brush, apply the color Going Steady in your crease and outer-V. Stay close to the crease line. This color will give a great purple effect, while still looking neutral. If you see that you applied too  much color, go back with that first blender brush with the color Made to Last and soften the color a bit.
  4. Using an all-over eyeshadow brush, apply the color Time Out on your lid. This is a beautiful peachy-nude color and would even look great by itself with Firefly in the crease. To bring the look together (with the purple theme), add a tiny bit of the color Pinky Promise on top of Time Out.
  5. Using that firmer blender brush, apply the Going Steady in your outer-V again. Guaranteed you covered a bit of that up when applying the lid colors. Then go in with your fluffy blender brush and Made to Last and apply to the crease to combine the colors.
  6. Taking a clean, fluffy blender brush, blend your crease colors to get rid of any harsh lines.
  7. On your lash line, apply Going Steady close to the roots of your bottom lashes and then Firefly over it. On your brow bone and inner corners, apply the color Pep Talk.

Step 9: Take the Too Faced Sketch Marker Liquid Liner in black and apply a thin line on your lid. Next, apply the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara on your lashes, starting with your bottom lashes first. This will help prevent any mascara ending up on your lid. If you get mascara under your eye or on your nose, wait until it dries and brush it off with a clean eyeshadow brush or Q-Tip.

Step 10: Apply your contour. I use the Cocoa Contour palette from Too Faced and apply in the hollows of my cheeks and on my jaw line. If the color applies too dark, take your beauty blender that still has your foundation and concealer on it and stipple it over your contour. This will lighten the color.

Step 11: Time to get that sun-kissed looking skin! Apply your bronzer.

Step 12: Apply a pinky-nude blush color to the apples of your cheeks. On your cheekbones, nose and Cupid’s bow apply your favorite highligher. I use the Too Faced Candlelight Glow in Warm Glow.

Step 13: Line your lips with a nude lip liner. I used Colourpop’s Skimpy pencil. Then I applied Too Faced Melted Matte Liquid Lipstick in Child Star.

Step 14: Time to set it all! Spray your favorite makeup setting spray and voila! Your look is now complete.

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I know this may seem like a lot of steps, but the result will yield a great day-to-night look, perfect for any time of year.

If you like this look, leave a comment below!

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Every Day Glam Makeup Tutorial

Hi loves! I know it has been a while since I posted on here and I am so sorry about that! My new job has been my priority the last few months, but now I’m back in full swing. I am kicking 2017 off with my first-ever makeup tutorial! I tried really hard to get this to work properly, but did run into some technical difficulties. That’s okay, though, because it’s all a learning experience, right? This tutorial features almost all Too Faced products and I’ve written about this look before in my Natural Glow Party Look post. I hope you enjoy the video and please subscribe to my channel!

August Hits and Miss Video

Hi everyone! Hope you’re all having a fabulous Labor Day. Below you’ll find my August Hits and Miss video. If you like what you see, please subscribe to my channel, and stay tuned here on the blog, because I will be giving you a written tutorial on how I got the look I wore at my housewarming party last weekend!

Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation

So, while I won’t be posting a video on YouTube this week as we are gearing up for guests to stay with us and  a housewarming party, I did want to write a blog post or two. This one is about the new All Nighter Liquid Foundation from Urban Decay. Now, I am an avid Urban Decay lover. I use their eyeshadow primer potion, setting spray, B6 spray, have many of their palettes… When I saw that they launched this completely matte foundation, I knew I had to give it a try. I purchased it last Saturday and have worn it the last three days.

Unfortunately, this is one of the worst foundations I have ever purchased. I have tried with with different hydrating and moisturizing or tacky primers, but this foundation leaves my skin cakey, flakey and makes me look 30 years older than I really am.

When I first apply it, it goes on smooth – and when they say a little goes a long way, it really does. I applied a pump and a half on my damp beauty blender and dotted it all over my faced and then proceeded to tap it into my skin. It goes on flawless. Adding the Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer in the shade Light Warm (one of my new faves) ties the whole look together.

After setting my face (just a little since it’s a full coverage concealer) my face looked really amazing. Flawless, even. Fast forward five hours later and the foundation has started to come off around my nose and chin (my oiliest points of the face) and has cracked and looks cakey. My not-deep laugh lines look deep (I’m talking, I need botox deep) and it just doesn’t look good.

Here’s a right after application photo (from Sunday) and a five hours later photo (from just now):

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As you can see from the first photo, it looks really pretty when it first goes on. The second photo is only after five hours of wear! That’s ridiculous. My chin looks all cakey and my laugh lines look so deep. Mind you, this is after blotting the oil away from my face.

Looks like I’ll be sticking with the Born This Way foundation from Too Faced for a while.

Have you tried the Urban Decay All Nighter foundation? Do you like it? If you have any advice on how to avoid the cakeyness, please leave me a comment below.

August Ipsy Glam Bag | Haul & Swatches

Hey guys! Check out my video for my latest ipsy glam bag! Loving the products I received this month, especially the 12-in-1 haircare. If you don’t know what ipsy is, it’s a $10/month subscription service where you receive customized beauty and makeup products. Plus you get to keep a super cute makeup bag, perfect for travel. If you’re interested in trying them out, here’s a link to get you started: http://bit.ly/2bBZMuA.

If you already receive ipsy I’d love to know what you got in your glam bag this month! Leave a comment below. 🙂

Swamp Queen Palette | Tarte x Grav3yardGirl Summer Look

finally got around to using my Swamp Queen, tarte x grav3yard girl palette over the weekend. It has been a while since I ordered it from Ulta, but I was wearing the right colors Saturday night to pair with an eye look. I also used some of my new ColourPop products, which I unbox in this video.

As you can tell from the hyperlink above,  I started a new YouTube channel and am really excited about it! Please subscribe if you like Blush and Lipstick.

Here’s the look!

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Palette photo courtesy of tarte cosmetics

Face:

Eyes:

I will provide a step-by-step application on how to get this eye look.

  1. Apply Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion (in original) on lid and a little above the crease.
  2. Using the Makeup Revolution Affirmation palette and a firm eyeshadow brush, I applied the matte white shade on my lid up to my brow bone.
  3. Taking a fluffy blending brush, I applied natural peaches from the Grav3yardGirl x Tarte Swamp Queen palette in my crease, blending up.
  4. Once I had the right color with natural peaches, i took a firmer blending brush and applied dogmain the crease, slightly below natural peaches, and in the outer “v” of the eye.
  5. Using the same firm eyeshadow brush I used to apply that white matte shade from the MR palette, I applied sassy bun on my lid, adding a little glam to the look.
  6. If needed, reapply natural peaches to the crease to soften the look a bit.
  7. Using a clean, fluffy blending brush, blend the crease up a little more to get rid of harsh lines.

Lips:

If you like this look and want to see a tutorial of it on my YouTube channel, leave a comment below! Also, what looks have you created with the Swamp Queen palette by Grav3yardGirl x Tarte? I’d love to know.

YouTube Channel Launch & First Video

So, I took the plunge. I finally launched my YouTube channel. Now that I am 98% settled into my new house, I figured today would be a good day to film my first video. I didn’t film anything too intense, just a haul video of my latest ColourPop purchases. If you like this blog, like what I post and want to see live action tutorials, please subscribe to my channel. Here’s my first video below!

Makeup Revolution and ColourPop

Now that I have my office/vanity room set up, I’ve been able to organize everything so it’s super accessible. Over the weekend I had to venture out for lunch in San Francisco and decided to play around with my new Makeup Revolution Affirmation palette. Super affordable, the colors are quite pigmented and who doesn’t love 32 shadows for $15. The look pictured below includes the affirmation palette, as well as ColourPop’s liquid matte lipstick in the color Trap. Read below to see how I got this look. If you’ve created a similar look, please let me know! I’d love to see it.

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Face:

Eyes:

 

  • Eyeshadow Primer Potion by Urban Decay (placed on lid up to brow bone)
  • Affirmation Eyeshadow palette by Makeup Revolution (see image for step-by-step placement of color)
    1. Using a clean eyeshadow brush, place color A on lid up to brow bone.
    2. Using a clean blending brush, place color B in the crease, blending in windshield wiper motions. Blend color B into the outer “V” of the eye, placing a little on the outer corner of the eyelid.
    3. Using the same eyeshadow brush you used to apply color A, apply color C on the eyelid, covering any empty spots with color C. Apply color C on inner corners.
    4. If necessary, apply color B into the crease again to deepen the color.
    5. Using a clean fluffy blending brush, blend crease out so lines aren’t as harsh.
    6. Using either a clean eyeshadow brush or an eyeliner brush, apply color D to brow bone (under eyebrow) to highlight.
  • Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in the color jet black by Bobbi Brown
  • They’re Real mascara by Benefit Cosmetics

Lips

Setting Spray:

 

National Lipstick Day

Lipstick has always been a staple in my makeup collection, however, I haven’t religiously wore it until recently. Something about a matte liquid long-lasting lipstick intrigues me. So, in honor of National Lipstick Day, I decided to list some of my favorite lipsticks here, followed by a gallery of some of my favorite colors I’ve swatched. I’d love to know what brand you use for your go-to lip color, as well as types (satin, matte, gloss, etc.). Leave a comment below to tell me!

Note: Too Faced is offering 15% off their lipsticks in honor of National Lipstick Day, so take advantage!

Lipsticks

Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Lipstick in Child Star

Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Lipstick in Sell Out

Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Lipstick in Queen B

Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Lipstick in Miso Pretty

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Unicorn (comfort matte)

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Backtalk (comfort matte)

Tarte Cosmetics Tartiest Creamy Matte Lip Paint in Namaste

Tarte Cosmetics Tartiest Creamy Matte Lip Paint in TBT

 

First Impressions: Andalou Naturals Coconut Water Firming Toner

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It’s been a whirlwind the last few weeks. We finally moved into our new house, but my office is still getting set up, so in the meantime I’ve been unpacking boxes and getting other things organized, but I wanted to do a first impressions on a product I received at my full-time job yesterday.

So if you recall from a previous post, I work for Marin Magazine based in Sausalito, CA (10-minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge) and in the July issue we featured a local beauty company called Andalou Naturals in our Made By Marin section. Andalou Naturals is a 100% Non-GMO verified beauty brand, using fruit stem-cell science in their products. Another great note is that they are certified organic, fair trade, gluten free, cruelty free, and certified vegetarian and vegan.

One of the founders and CEO’s dropped off a box of goodies to the office yesterday and what first caught my eye was Andalou Naturals’ Coconut Water Firming Toner. I love anything that has coconut or rose water in it, so I knew I had to try it. My coworker tried it the last time Andalou sent us a package and she says she loves it, so I had to try it.

First off, the packaging is super cute. It’s simple, clean and since it’s a quenching product, the coconut water is in a blue bottle (my favorite color!). After removing my makeup and cleansing my face, I followed the directions and shook the bottle well and sprayed all over my face and neck. My face had an even complexion and felt hydrated just minutes after use. I used it this morning prior to using my moisturizing primer before applying my makeup. I definitely will keep using after cleansing my face each morning and night. I cannot say enough great things about this product.

I have also used Andalou Naturals’ shea butter hand cream in clementine and it’s amazing. It hydrates my skin without feeling greasy and smells amazing.

Andalou Naturals is available in more than 22 countries and carried by Target, Whole Foods, Ulta, Pharmaca and others – and online.

Have you seen or tried Andalou Naturals products before? I’d love to know. Leave me a comment.

Latest Ulta Haul: Urban Decay & Benefit

I am so sorry for the lack of posts lately. We bought a house and are in the process of packing up our apartment and moving things over. But I am excited for the new house since I’ll have my own beauty room and office! I will be starting a YouTube channel shortly after we move (and after I get everything set up), but in the meantime you can still follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Now to the post. About a week ago I placed an order on Ulta.com after they sent me an email that Benefit just launched their new brow collection online. I normally don’t do anything with my brows, but had heard great things about this new collection so I thought I’d give it a try. Loving the packaging for both Goof Proof Brow Pencil and KaBrow! I have yet to use it (I overslept this morning and barely made it out the door on time), and I’m excited to give my eyebrows a cleaner, less patchy look. Have you used these new Benefit brow items? I’d love to know. Since I purchased the Benefit items, they sent me a free variety pack. Love those items, too.

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Also in my haul was another Urban Decay Vice lipstick. I have been obsessed with this collection since it first launched. This is the second lipstick I’ve purchased – I am obsessed with their comfort matte finish. The color I purchased this time around is called Unicorn and is a pale, peachy nude color. When I applied Unicorn today, it seemed brighter than what the shade looks like in the lipstick tube. To darken it up, I took a little bit of Urban Decay’s Backtalk (another Vice, comfort-matte lipstick) and dabbed on my lips. Worked really well, actually.

Here’s a photo of the lip color. What do you think of this shade? Let me know in the comments.

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Grav3yardgirl x Tarte Swamp Queen Palette First Impressions

If you’re an avid YouTube beauty vlogger follower like me, guaranteed you’ve stumbled across Grav3yardgirl’s channel. The quirkiness of Bunny is so appealing and her looks are super unique. So when other people like Jeffree Star and MannyMUA were reviewing her new palette (a collab with Tarte Cosmetics), I knew I had to buy it. I mainly purchase my makeup goods from Ulta, so the moment they told me it was available online, I added it to my cart and bought the palette. Unfortunately, the liquid lipsticks that came with the palette were sold separately and sold out when I last looked (I may have to go to my nearest Ulta location to purchase).

In Grav3yardgirl’s palette you’ll find a brush, a bronzer color, a highlight and a blush. You’ll also find nine eyeshadow colors including some matte, some shimmer and some glitter. The names are super cute. When I swatched after I got the palette (and then stupidly deleted the photo of the swatches), the colors are super pigmented. This palette helps you accomplish a full-face glam or natural look. I can’t wait to experiment more with these colors. Take a look at the palette below. I’m in love with the packaging and the sturdiness of it, too.

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Here are the color names and the type of shade from the Tarte website:

  • #SFS (rose gold)
  • natural peaches (peachy nude)
  • dogman (burnt sienna)
  • big baby (cream)
  • sassy bun (copper peach)
  • sippy sippy (glittery brown)
  • haunting (lavender)
  • uncommon (purple slate)
  • mancat (deep plum)
  • sweet tea (bronzer)
  • gator wings (highlighter)
  • does this thing really work? (blush)

Have you used this palette or created looks with it? Let me know in the comments.