Youtube Channel

Hey everyone! I wanted to do a mid-week update. Many of you don't know that I have actually had a youtube channel for quite some time, but I haven't ever put any thing on it. So lately I've been feeling a little more inspired and have had a little more time on my hands due to poor hours at work.

So! With that being said, here is the link to my youtube channel. Also, below is my first video! Check it, love it, share it!

Thanks again everyone for all you do!

Illuminators

First, I'd like to thank Melanie Fioratos for writing me about illuminators.

Illuminators are pretty awesome accessories. They comes in 3 different forms: liquid, cream and powder. Liquids are usually in a pump bottle, creams in a compact and powder is either pressed or loose. Depending on the type of illuminator you have affects what you can do with it/the order you in which you put in on.

The main purpose of an illuminator is to accentuate the high points of the face. There are a few main areas of the face that most people tend to high light.

1. Under eye
Highlighting under the eye is really great for those of you who have dark circles. You can apply a liquid illuminator before your concealer and it'll help to reflect light and make it appear less dark under the eye.

2. Top of the cheek bones
Highlighting the tops of the cheek bones, along with some contouring, tends make the face look thinner. If you put the illuminator in a C-shape, it also give the eye a natural lift, which is a great technique for my mature clients.

3. Top and bottom of the eye brow 
If you follow the shape of the brow with the illuminator, it'll accentuate the shape of the brow.

4. Bridge (middle) of the nose
Placing the illuminator in the middle of nose in a straight line makes your nose look flatter and straighter.

5. Cupid's bow
Putting the illuminator there and around the top of the lips will make the lips look fuller.

The type of illuminator is also very important to the order that you put it on. If it's a liquid or cream, you can put in on before the makeup or mix it with a bit of foundation and put it on afterwards. But if it's a powder, whether loose or pressed, you need to put it on after you've powdered over your foundation. Otherwise, it'll look cakey and it won't blend.

Other uses for illuminators:
-You can mix it with your foundation if it's a liquid and not only will it water down the foundation, it'll also give you a dewy look.
-You can use it as an eye shadow base, on top of a primer to give your shadows more shimmer.

Favorite Eye Shadow Brands

So with all of the brands out there saying that they have the best eye shadows, how do you know which ones are really awesome? Some of them are obvious, others not so much. But here are my favorite shadows:

1. Urban Decay

So this one is more obvious as to why I like them. Frosty, awesome colors and they're really creamy. I have a few of the new ones and a few of the old ones. I have to say that they both are amazing. Plus, they always come out with the best palettes. Basically the only thing that I don't like about Urban Decay is that they don't have enough matte colors. Frosty colors are great, but you can't always make a look with frosty colors. $18 each.

2. MAC

While MAC shadows are not nearly as creamy as the Urban shadows, but the frosty ones are pretty nice. They also have a lot of matte colors, which aren't as pigmented as I'd like, but it's still better than none. Plus, you can get them pre-depotted. And there is one obvious perk: the back to MAC program. For every 6 eye shadows you return, you can get 1 shadow or lip stick/gloss. Awesome! $15 each?

3. NYX

NYX is a cheap brand that can be found at a variety of venues, from HEB to Ulta. But don't let the price fool you! While I'm not partial to a few things in the NYX line, I love their shadows! They're really pigmented and they also have a ton of frosty AND matte shadows. Plus, they have a lot of good palettes at really fair prices. 

4. Bare Minerals

When I was first introduced to Bare Minerals, they only had loose pigments. Some of them are VERY pigmented and some of them are not. Some of them stay and some of them blend away. Overall though, for a mineral pigment, they are pretty great. Just make sure to use a primer underneath them. The pressed ones, while convenient, aren't in my opinion as good as the loose pigments. They're very pigmented and smooth, but perhaps I'm set in my ways. The only real complaints I have are they don't have many matte colors that don't look chalky or difficult to blend.

5. Pur Minerals

While they don't have many colors and they're not overly pigmented, the colors they have are matte and they always seem to have the perfect color I'm looking for. They have the perfect matte pink/cream color. I like them as accessories to a look, not necessarily as a total look. Plus they're easy to blend.

Favorite Fashion Icons: Then and Now

So throughout history, there have been women that have been known for their statements in fashion. These are just a few of mine.

1. Marilyn Monroe

2. Audrey Hepburn

3. Jackie O

4. Kate Middleton 

5. Kate Moss

6. Dita von Teese

7. Blake Lively

8. Nicole Richie

9. Leighton Meester

10. Heidi Klum

11. Twiggy

License or No License?

For those of you who don't know, I'm eventually going back to school to get my estheticians license. I've been talking to a lot of people who went back to school to get their license and most of the time I get positive feedback about it. There are those, however, that don't think it's necessary. So this poses the question: To get license or not to get licensed?

One of the major benefits in my books is that it opens many a door for you. If you run your own business, you can take your skills and license on the road. You can work in a salon if you so choose, as either a makeup artist or an esthetician. Or both! Double the money.

So the obvious benefit to going to school is the education. In order to get a truly beautiful makeup, you really have to understand the skin that the makeup will be on. So much can go wrong if you don't understand the skin you're working with.

Another thing people have told me is that it's really not worth getting an estheticians license, that it's more practical to get a cosmetology license. And to those people I give a straight up no. I toyed with the idea for oh, maybe half a second, and then I realized 2 things: 1. Not only do I hate hair, but 2. It would be a great injustice to who ever got stuck with me as a stylist. So I've decided to leave it to the professionals that love their jobs.

So what's your opinion: license or no license?

Urban Decay For the Win!

So after a nearly month long hiatus, I am back and feistier than ever. I've been exploring the great divides of brands lately, trying to tell them all apart. I mean, what really does set them apart? They all have skin care benefits in the makeup, they all claim to have the best foundations, they all have essentially everything the others do. But after the launch of the new Naked Skin Foundation, I have come to realize that Urban Decay deserves some kudos!

For those of you who are not aware, not only has Urban Decay recently reformulated their eye shadows to be silkier and more long lasting than before, they've also launched their brand new Ultra Definition foundation and to top it all off, approximately 70% of their products are vegan! Before about 2 months ago, I didn't really care about which products were vegan or organic or whatever the new claims to fame were, but after watching many a documentary about animals and food, I can greatly appreciate the sacrifice that animals make now.

But today's blog entry focuses on the brand new foundation that I keep raving about.

I've tried the foundation on many a woman and on myself as well. It evens out the skin tone, looks exactly like your own skin and has a variety of colors so no matter how pink or olive toned you are, there is a perfect shade for you. It doesn't sit in the pores and as oily as I tend to be, it doesn't make me oily! It also has lots of peptides, which are great ingredients for anti-aging. It's a great finish, not too dewy, but not overly matte either.

Unfortunately for my deeper skin toned audience,
 though, once again your shades have been over looked. There are a few deeper shades, but they are not cute colors :\ That and the fact that sometimes if you apply just a teenie bit too much foundation, it tends to be a little bit hard to blend.

But overall I have to give the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation 8.5 out of 10. I love it on me and most of the women I have used it on, also love it. So if you're in need of a brand new foundation, go to your local Sephora or Ulta and have someone try it on you!

I also have an announcement. From now on, my blog entries will be made on Sundays. The perfect end to a long week!

Product Review: Better Than False Lashes

So in my heaps of gratis,  along with getting to try the Big Fatty Macara, I also got to try the new Too Face: Better Than False Lashes Mascara ($35).

So this particular mascara requires 3 steps and two different mascara tubes. The first, longer mascara is step one and three. You apply it first, apply the lengthening agent and then reapply the first mascara.

And let me just tell you, I'm also not a fan of this mascara. First of all, the mascara is too sticky for my liking. I understand that it's to grab on to the second step, but it's literally like having glue on my lashes. Secondly, the second step at first look seems like a cotton fibers. Upon more research, it is nylon fibers. Either way, it cannot be Optomologist Tested. I have makeup allergies that have been acting up the last couple of weeks and it irritated my eyes like nobody's business. The entire day it felt like there was something scratching my eye.

And finally, the mascara claims to be "better than false lashes," as it so states in the title. In my opinion, it was a great disappointment. Sure, maybe it made my slightly longer, but there was absolutely no volume added to my lashes. I was told by my boss that in order to add volume that I should use another mascara instead of the first mascara. And who on earth wants to pay $35 for a mascara, only to have to use an additional mascara to add volume?

I give the Too Face: Better Than False Lashes mascara a 4 out of a possible 10.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please leave a comment below!

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Guys and gals, the seminar is in 11 days! There are only 4 seats left! Everyone will leave with a brand new, full size door prize and the confidence to do your makeup like a pro!

Only $35 to get in attend! E-mail me at eem461@gmail.com to reserve your spot now!