Giving your cheeks a pop of color

One of my favorite beauty products is blush! Seriously, I love it! Blush can transform a persons face from dull to bright instantly.
Don't be afraid to use a bright color. Even the most pigmented blush can be toned down or worn very sheer. Bright pink blush, like the one's in the video (Bobbi Brown Pale Pink and MAC Coygirl) are some of my favorites.
Layering blush is also a great way to keep your blush on throughout the day. First, apply a cream blush to your cheeks with a foundation brush or even a blush brush. On top of that, layer a powder blush.

Hope you all like the video, and make sure you go to my YouTube page and subscribe!

MAC, Sephora and Private Gallery Haul

Hi Everyone! I'm back with a MAC, Private Gallery and Sephora Haul.

Hope you enjoy my finds. As always, if you have any questions, shoot me an email.

How to properly conceal undereye circles

I've received quite a response via emails about the video I posted, so I figured I'd do a follow up of the step by step process on how to conceal the eyes.

This is probably every woman's nightmare, especially those of us that have children. One of the many questions I receive from clients is how to conceal the circles under their eyes. We all hate the dreaded gray, ashy look that can be left behind if this is not done properly.

Step 1
Eye Cream
This is one of the most important steps. Apply some type of eye cream day and night. Doing so will allow the concealer to go on smoother and help prevent some of the lines and wrinkles we all cringe to think about. It also helps prep the delicate skin so that the concealer doesn't look "cakey." I personally use MAC moisturelush eye cream.



Step 2
CORRECT
The KEY to erasing dark circles is the proper corrector. I mostly use peachy tones to correct my clients as this will color correct the dark circles under their eyes. There are a few companies that have color correctors. My favorite are Bobbi Brown, Eve Pearl and Makeup Forever.

Step 3
CONCEAL
This step can be optional for most people, but for my clients, I take the time to show them this step.
You will use a concealer about 1-2 shades lighter than your normal {not white please} foundation/tinted moisturizer color. This will help to brighten your undereye area. It will also help cancel out any leftover of the color corrector from the previous step. I use all different kinds of concealer: Makeup Forever HD, Bobbi Brown, MAC Studio Fix, MAC Studio Finish, Eve Pearl, Laura Mercier...the list goes on and on.

Step 4
Set with powder
Don't forget this last step. I think some people skip this step because they are afraid this will cause the lines to show under their eyes. In fact, this will prevent the creamy concealer from settling into your lines. There are many kinds of powders you can use under your eyes. I use a finely milled powder, face powder is not going to do for this area. In the video, I talk about using my MUFE HD powder to set the concealer under my eyes. This is not technically meant forthe under eye are, but I love how it sets the concealer and gives a flawless look to the skin. BeneFit also makes a great highlighting powder for under the eyes called Powderflage. It highlights and helps keep the concealer in place. I will say, though, the Benefit Powderflage, is only meant for lighter skin tones as it has a pink highlighter color. Another suggestion would be to use a transparent powder to set everything. Whatever type of powder you decide to use, make sure you apply it with a brush and not a sponge. This will make sure it'll be a light dusting of the powder.


I hope this step by step has answered some of your questions. As always, if you have any others, please send me an email.

How to Conceal Under Eye Circles

It's probably every girls worst nightmare....waking up with horrible dark circles under our eyes.
This is also one of the most widely asked question, how do we conceal/correct the circles?

Watch the tutorial below for a step by step instruction:






Products used:
MAC Moisturelush Eye Cream
Eve Pearl Salmon Concealer in Medium
MAC Select Moisturecover NC20
Sigma Makeup Concealer Brush F70
Bobbi Brown Eye Blender Brush
Makeup Forever HD Powder

What do you think? Have you ever used a Salmon color corrector/concealer?

Another mascara review....

Covergirl came out with a new mascara about a month ago called Lashfusion. What?!? Something new that I haven't tried? You know it was in my cart faster than you could blink. As usual, I got the waterproof version of the mascara. I really wanted to like this mascara, but it didn't happen.
According to the Covergirl website, this mascara is supposed to thicken and extend the look of your natural lashes (isn't every mascara supposed to do that) and add Super Volumizing + Buildable Fiber Strength lengthening to the lashes.

Here's the problem. The brush is one of the plastic bristle brushes. These brushes never do it for me. My biggest pet peeve about this brush is that the tip of the brush, which you would normally use to get either the smaller lashes or the outer lashes, has no bristles!! What is that about?!?
I will say, the formula was very nice, it didn't clump at all. Yes, you could go back after your first coat, add a second coat without the spider looking lashes. I can say, CG is correct in saying it is a buildable mascara.

But, in my book, this mascara is a FAIL for personal use. Since I use disposable wands on my clients, I'll probably use this mascara in my kit since I did like the formula.


Back to the drawing board.....

How long does your makeup last?

One of the questions I get asked is how long should a person should keep a product or what is the shelf life of a certain product. I figured it'd be best to answer these questions on here. The best thing to do is to keep your products in a dry, cool area, away from the heat. Remember, the heat can also change the consistency of products, like foundation and concealers.


Foundation anywhere from 12-18 months

Mascara 3-6 months

Concealer 12-18 months

Powder 18-24 months (make sure you either clean your sponge or change it out)

Blush 18-24 months ( I think you can stretch this out as long as you take care of the product and it's not cracked or doesn't smell)

Cream blush 12-18 months (again, you can stretch this out as long as it doesn't smell)

Eyeshadow 18-24 months

Eyeliner 18 months *

Liquid liner 6-12 months *

Lipstick 2-3 years

Lipliner 2-3 years


*For any eyeliner or liquid liners, if you've had an eye infection, it's best to throw it out. Also, be weary of sharing pencils with others as you will be sharing bacteria. To make sure you sanitize properly, dip the pencil in alcohol and sharpen them if you are using amongst others.





A general rule of thumb for most products, if it starts to smell, it's time to throw it out!

EOS Lip blam

Photos courtesy of http://www.evolutionofsmooth.com/products_lip_sphere.html

I've heard a lot of people rave about this lip balm. I was in CVS a few months ago buying some last minute extra lashes for a photo shoot and they had these buy 1 get 1 free. Yes, I snagged them. One for me, one for my sister {lucky girl, she gets all my extra stuff, ha!}. I bought the balm in the flavor Summer Fruit. I have to say, I've had the lip balm a few months and am thoroughly enjoying it. It's not very greasy, and moisturizes your lips.

According to the website:
Eos lip balm is 95% organic, 100% natural, and paraben and petrolatum free. Packed with antioxidant-rich vitamin E, soothing shea butter and jojoba oil, eos keeps your lips moist, soft and sensationally smooth.

I like the packing, it twists shut and seems to have a tight seal. The smell is very light, and not overwhelming.

When I run out, which I don't think will be for a very long time, I'll definitely be picking up another one.

Have you tried EOS?