Friday, April 27, 2012

Easy Prom Makeup


It's that wonderful time of year again, when spring has sprung and teenaged girls everywhere plan for an magical evening out, otherwise known as PROM. To help you along, I created a super easy Prom makeup look using Urban Decay's NAKED palette. Feel free to elaborate if you like a stronger, darker look or change up the lips as you go. 

Click below to watch!


PRODUCTS USED:

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
Makeup For Ever Mat Velvet Foundation
MAC Studio Finish Concealer
MAC Pro Long Wear Concealer
Makeup For Ever HD Powder
MAC Refined Golden Bronzer
Youngblood Cosmetics Cream Blush in Taffeta
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Stereorose
Urban Decay Priming Potion in Eden (for the eyes)
Urban Decay's NAKED Palette
Tarina Tarantino's Gold Sparklacity Powder
Urban Decay's Perversion eye liner
Too Faced glitter eye liner in Stalkerazzi
MAC eyelash curler
Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara in Black
MAC Fluidline in Black Track
MAC Pro Longwear lip pencil in What A Blast
MAC Impassioned lipstick


Thursday, April 26, 2012

NYX & Laura Mercier Haul Plus Video


Hello beauties! I'm back with a NYX and Laura Mercier-heavy shop & tell. As I mentioned on my Facebook and Twitter last week, I was up for a NYX Face Award. I didn't win, however, NYX was still gracious enough to give me $50 to spend on their website! I was SO excited! After careful consideration and perusing on NYXCosmetics.com, I decided on the following items: 

NYX Jet Black Eyelash Glue
NYX Green Tea Blotting Paper
NYX Milk Jumbo Pencil
NYX Horse Radish Jumbo Pencil
NYX Carry All Beauty Bag

I was also lucky enough to be gifted a Laura Mercier Foundation Primer and eyeshadow samples by my good friend and fellow makeup artist, Nicole Wittman of Always Made Up Artistry:

LAURA MERCIER Foundation Primer
LAURA MERCIER Sheer Creme Eye Colour in Aqua Pastel
LAURA MERCIER Sheer Creme Eye Colour in Mauve Pastel

And of course I sneaked in a little purchase while at MAC Topanga last week: 

MAC Prep & Prime Skin Smoother

Cappy made a guest appearance and helped me with this special haul. Click below to watch!




Sunday, April 22, 2012

Little Luna- Maternity Painting

This past weekend I had the honor of painting Jenny's 8.5-month pregnant belly in anticipation of baby Luna. Proud papa and photographer, Demecio Sandoval, took the photos. Demecio and Jenny decided to name their little girl Luna and to keep with the theme of her name, we did a "moon and stars" motif on her belly. 
Check out the beautiful photos below.







I can't wait to meet little Luna!  She's a lucky girl with great parents, that's for sure. :)





Thursday, April 19, 2012

Too Faced "Natural Royalty" Out Now

I love this time of year. From March to June, every makeup line comes out with their summer launch. Summer just happens to be my favorite season, full of turquoise eye liners, peach lip gloss and deep dark bronzers! Too Faced must have known my birthday is coming up, because they delivered this amazing "Natural Beauty" launch just in time. Check out the collection below or click here for more.



Summer Eye Collection- $36

I'm usually not a huge fan of "eye shadow kits" because it feels limiting. What I really love about this one by Too Faced is that all of the colors are truly wearable for every skin tone. THANK YOU for not leaving out our darker-toned girls, Too Faced! I'm drooling everywhere over that little peach color.




Candlelight Glow Duo- $29
I was already in love with the original "Candlelight" powder but this just takes it to another level. The left gives off a yellow-gold glow while the right now softens with pink undertones. According to the description, "offers a more ethereal glow by using PHOTOLITE technology which diffuses harsh lighting giving your skin a diffused, youthful luminosity. The powder formula is easy to apply to cheeks, brow bones, and décolleté for a quick all-over glow."






Primed & Poreless Pure- $30
This is colorless and oil-free and mattes out any shiny-ness while minimizing redness and erasing the appearance of pores and fine lines. This is also a spin-off of the original formula, particularly formulated for those with sensitive skin.




Royal Oil Coconut Oil Body Bronzer With Mangosteen Extract

$35
This sexy bronzing body oil absorbs into the skin without smearing onto clothes or sheets, and is great for every skin tone, from pale to  deep-dark. Mangosteen Oil is a potent antioxidant that protects against harsh environmental factors. Royal Oil is great for face or body (although if you have sensitive skin and are prone to breaking out, I would stay away from the face). You can also use this product in your hair to protect it from the salty beach or chlorinated pools.








Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder- $29

This matte formula bronzer is actually made of real cocoa powder. A chocolate bronzer, I love it! It even smells like chocolate...YUM. It comes in two shades, Light Matte and Deep Matte. I prefer matte bronzers over the glittery-greasy shimmer ones anyway.



Beautylish-ious


Online cosmetics site Beautylish.com is launching a shop! If you haven't heard of Beautylish, it's a website that hosts articles, product reviews, photos, videos and advice on all things-cosmetics. Many of my fellow makeup artists are on this site. You can follow me HERE if you like! I got a lot of my ideas for nail art from the photos posted on Beautylish.

What's really exciting is that they are launching their very own shop, where they will be giving sneak previews of new products and possibly selling items that are EXCLUSIVE to Beautylish. If you are interested in Beautylish's shop, click the link below to join the email list.



Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Earth Day Skincare


In honor of Earth Day, LaLicious, an all natural bath and body line, is donating 20% of the sales from their Sugar Reef line of skincare for the entire month of April to Save Our Shores !  I'm not a big perfume girl, but when I do wear any, I stick to ocean-scented stuff like MAC Cosmetics' Turquatic and Lalicious' Sugar Reef products. LaLicious' newest scent, Sugar Reef, is infused with notes of casaba melon, white tea and ginger. It gives off the clean and fresh aroma of an ocean breeze (ahhhhh). According to the site, LaLicious' products are all-natural and free of parabens, preservatives and sulfate detergents. 

Sugar Reef Collection 

Souffle' Scrub- $34


Body Oil- $24



Body Butter- $25



Body Soap- $18


ABOUT Save Our Shores

Save Our Shores is the oldest marine conservation group in the Monterey Bay region. They organize and implement beach cleanups, presentations in schools and community groups, working with recreational boaters, and advocating at all government levels for the health of our ocean.    

Sunday, April 15, 2012

My Illamasqua Cleopatra

Yes, I'm still stuck on Illamasqua's Human Fundamentalism line. I wanted to recreate this futuristic, tribal Cleopatra and my friend and comedian Melia Mills happily played the guinea pig. With the help of photographer and friend Demecio Sandoval, we captured this recreation in nature (aka my backyard).

Here's the original


Here's the Lady C version

We had so much fun listening to Bob Marley while the birds chirped outside.




Here's my favorite shot of the day:



Thank you to Melia and Demecio for making my quirky idea a reality. I'm so lucky to have such talented friends who are down to collaborate all in the name of ART. :)

You can catch Melia Mills at the Comedy Central Stage in Hollywood, Calif. If you don't live close, you can also follow Melia on her Youtube channel HERE and on Twitter HERE.

Need head shots, family photos or a photog to capture your special day? Contact Demecio Sandoval on his Facebook page HERE for great rates!



Wednesday, April 11, 2012

How to Apply Fake Eyelashes

Fantastic still shot of me below, right? LOL

I decided to re-do my fake eyelashes video on Youtube since I now have an HD quality camera. I did this one right after my Spring Trend: Mint video so you will see that I'm still rockin' Lime Crime's Mint To Be lipstick :) 


Things you will need: 

False Eyelashes - My favorite brands are Ardell, Makeup For Ever and MAC. 
Curler- You should curl your own eyelashes.
Mascara- Apply mascara to your own eyelashes before applying the falsies.
Lash Glue- My favorite brand is Duo. There is black-drying (which is waterproof) and clear-drying (non-waterproof.) I prefer to use the black-drying, because it stays put and looks like eyeliner, but if you have sensitive eyes, try the clear kind first.
Scissors- You will need a pair of scissors to trim your false eyelashes.
Q-tips- You can use q-tips to help push the falsies onto your eyelid and gently roll onto the skin to get rid of excess glue.

Good Luck!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Mint To Be

Spring is here, and so is the new trend of mint green! We are seeing this lovely shade of mint all over the runways in form of clothes, shoes, nails and...lips! Here I am wearing Lime Crime's lipstick shade in Mint To Be. Yes, I know it's unconventional, but if you're up for it, it's a great way to incorporate this new spring trend!


If you're more on the conservative side, you can still wear mint on your eyes while rocking some sweet peach lips.


CLICK TO WATCH  below as I show you both looks. Hope you like!



Monday, April 2, 2012

The Lip Bar- A Toast to Beauty

I love new makeup companies! At the top of my list is N.Y.-based The Lip Bar. This company was created by Melissa Butler, who was tired of feeling restricted by other makeup lines when it came to pops of true, vibrant color. Wanting to express herself creatively with beauty, she came up with the concept for The Lip Bar.

The Lip Bar boasts highly pigmented lipsticks that are created with a unique blend of natural ingredients, designed to moisturize, soften and amplify lips all while setting each beauty-lover apart with intoxicatingly bold colors. 


FUN FACTS:
    
  •  What's really unique about the website is that you can change the SKIN TONE of the lip model in the photo to match yours, then select which lipstick you want to see on her.

  • Each lipstick is named after a signature cocktail. For example, their bright orange lipstick is called "Sex on the Beach" and their mint green shade is called "Sour Apple Martini"
  • Each lipstick runs $20 and is free of shipping charge! Each lipstick purchase comes with a velvet Lip Bar dust bag to carry it in and a ‘Thank You’ card coupled with the drink recipe for the cocktail that inspired the lipstick name and hue.

Check out their fun 2012 Spring line of lipsticks

Places to find The Lip Bar

Twitter: @TheLipBar