March Ipsy Review and FOTD

I have never been a firm believer in apologizing for not publishing on any particular blog. It's your own thing, it isn't your job and I feel as if you can post or not post whenever you want. But, not publishing regular blogs here just feels weird. I am trying to find a balance between YouTube and Mind Body Beauty and obviously I have yet to find it. However, this is a great start! From here on out, you wont hear any excuses about why I publish or don't publish. I will hopefully find some kind of balance. To be total honest I have been inspired to start publishing here on a regular basis. I just don't want to neglect my channel. Either way, I will always have a creative outlet. When the time comes that I suddenly stop using those outlets to my benefit, some one look into where I have been and my mind set. The day i stop having a creative outlet is the day you can declare me dead. So, please go subscribe to my YouTube channel! It's the same stuff from here, only it's there. I used to hate reading these types of messages on blogs because frankly I didn't really care. I just wanted to read the content and I hope you feel the same. This is officially the last "excuse" you will ever hear from me.

Ok! Now that I have that out of the way, I want to talk about my March Ipsy bag! I honestly love this subscription. I don't need to tell you all exactly what it is all about, but if you need to know more than this, click, click, click!

In the video, I review and swatch everything but one thing....

Klorane Eye Patches

I have never in my life tried eye patches. I have done tea bags on my eyes and it really reduces swelling and redness. Maybe I should do a blog post on that one day. These patches are marketed as soothing and relaxing and with soothing cornflower. I had no clue cornflower was soothing before this. You are to take the patches off of the paper and apply to the contour of your eyes {right underneath} for 20 minutes. The patch had a sticky gel-like consistency but it was nothing that was irritating. In fact, the eye patches felt really cooling- minty, really. I left them on for around a half hour and while they felt nice on, I didn't see too much of a difference. My under eyes still looked red {as usual} but they did feel a little bit softer. These were fun to try but I don't think they are a must.

On the other hand, the Bare Minerals Rebel Lip Gloss and Be a Bombshell Eyeshadow Quad in Bora Bora were a huge hit! Here's my Face of the Day using each of those products:

FOTD:
I used the Bare Minerals lip gloss in Rebel, that being the only thing on my lips. On the eyes, I used Rock Bottom {burnt red} on the lid, Risky Business {gold} right on the center of the lid, Starlet {brown} in the crease, and Bora Bora {teal} on the bottom lash line. I used a nude eye pencil in the waterline, a brown on the upper lash line, and my favorite liquid liner from Milani called Eye Tech. It's in a gold tube. Its amazing. Lastly I used Physician's Formula's Organic Wear mascara. I really like it- Review to come on that soon! 
 

That's it for now!

<3
Erica

Stila Dancing With the Stars Kit Review

While shopping for Christmas presents, I knew I really wanted to buy the Lorac Pro Palette. Well, Ulta was out of it and wasn't getting it back for weeks. Thinking I wasn't even going to buy anything, I stumbled upon this kit. I love kits. This kit couldn't have been more perfect for me. It was only $15! Chump change, compared to this kit.

Dancing With the Stars Eye and Cheek Palette

The big show. This little palette comes with 7 shadows {3 mattes and 4 shimmers} and one blush. The blush {Perfect 10} is a matte peachy brown blush with chunks of glitter in it. I think it makes a great all in one blush and contour powder because of that. Once applied, the glitter either isn't noticeable.

As I mentioned in the video, I have been really wanting to try some of Makeup Geek's matte eye shadows. The matte shadows in this palette look extremely similar to a few of them. The 3 mattes are Sway {a deep brown with purple/red undertones} Action {a light creamy color} and Ovation {a warm toned brown}. If Ovation had some glitter in it, it would be the exact same color as Perfect 10 {the blush}

As for the shimmery colors, there is Take a Bow which is very similar to Kitten only a few shades darker. It's a pretty champagne color. Rise and Fall is very similar to Sway. They look different in the pan but honestly there isn't much of a difference. Sway {matte} is more pigmented than Rise and Fall {shimmer} when swatched. Other than that and with the exception of a little bit of purple glitter in Rise and Fall, they look almost identical when swatched. Glam, a gorgeous antique coppery brown shimmer and is the most pigmented of the bunch. Pirouette is a pretty shimmery red brown with glitter.

here's some swatches. I contemplated re-doing these swatches because this photo doesn't do any of the shadows justice but just remember that these are swatched once over with my finger- no primer underneath. Glam is the most pigmented and the rest are pretty much tied. Action has as much pigment as the rest but looks invisible only because it is very close to the color of my skin. They don't have as much pigment when swatched as, let's say, Kitten. But when your applying them to your eye, they work out great.

 Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick
Fiery
This really sealed the deal for me. When I got my Be A Bombshell Hot Damn Lip Crayon {a bright red}  in my Ipsy Bag, that was all I wore for weeks. This red is much more deep and vampy. It leans a little to the cool side. I would have never been able to tell if it didn't make my teeth look white. If a red lipstick makes your teeth appear whiter, you know there has to be a blue tone to it even if you can't really tell. A little goes a long way and I have trouble keeping it inside the lines, as you can see. If I use just a little bit right in the center, then blend it out with my fingers using no lip liner it seems to work even better. But without a lip liner, it tends to get a little blotchy. So yeah its a lose lose situation. I personally do not mind re-applying or wiping it off in the middle of the day because I really love the color. Looking at these photos, im not sure it looks as great as I thought it did, heh.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner
 Lion Fish

For years, up until last summer all I ever wore in my water line was black eye liner. Since I went blonde, I have started going towards brown eye liners. This eye liner is a medium brown with red shimmer making it appear a brick red brown color in some lights. When you apply it, it makes no difference and just looks brown. If anything, the shimmer maybe adds some depth. I already knew I loved Stila's Smudge Stick eye liner's. I like to line the outer bottom corner with it (using a nude liner in the waterline) and using this also in the upper inner rim. It has great pigment and stays put. I don't have to worry about it running down my face. The water-proof claim is true to that extent. I have yet to jump in the pool with it so I don't know if its that water-proof.

Stay All Day 10 -in -1
HD Illuminating Beauty Balm

As for this little thing, I can't really say i've tried it. Im really not into BB creams and would prefer a matte finish as opposed to an illuminating finish. I think im going to give it to some one that would actually use it. Sorry bout that. ( :

It has been I think years since I've done a FOTD. I thought this would a perfect opportunity because I wear these things on my face daily since I bought them {with the exception of the BB cream}. So here I blended Action all over the lid up to the brow bone. Ovation in the crease. Take a Bow on my lid. Sway in the outer corner and Sway blended with Glam in the outer 3rd of the lid as well as on the outer third of the bottom lash line. I used Lion Fish {eye liner} on the outer half of the bottom lash line underneath the eyeshadow and as well as in my upper inner rim. Stila Liquid Lipstick in Fiery on the lips over top Mary Kay's Lip Liner in Raspberry.

These has been truly my favorite makeup items for the past couple of weeks. It was only $15 at Ulta for everything {that is a steal} and if they have some left, you gotta try it out! If you love neutral shadows and matte shadows, this is perfect. The liquid lipstick, eye liner, and BB cream are all extra's. The palette alone is worth the $15. The smartest $15 I have spent in months when it comes to beauty items. Make sure to check out the video because not only am I talking about this kit, I also talk about a few things I bought at the CVS beauty clearance too!

until next time,
xoxo
Erica

A Sculpted Face {feat Wet n' Wild}

You all know how much I love both Wet n Wild lipsticks and eye shadows. Both of which are greatly pigmented for the cheap price. learn more about those by clicking the links. Today I want to talk about some Wet n Wild face products. I have never gave Wet n Wild's face products a second look- until now. I have really been into face makeup lately. It's fun to try out different techniques with different products and brushes. The three face products I have here have been in my beauty bag box ever since I bought them weeks ago. And they are also some of the cheapest face products I have in my collection

Here I have a highlighter, a bronzer, and a blush.

Reserve Your Cabana
Color Icon Bronzer
The Highlight:

It is marketed as a bronzer, but I don't think I have ever seen anyone that could possibly use this as a bronzer. It's a nice warm {but very light} color. If Stila's Kitten eye shadow was transformed into a highlight, I think this would be it. When applied to my cheek bones, it looks like it has a satin finish: not shimmery but also not matte. I love both kinds of highlights but because this one is somewhere in the middle, makes it unique to anything I have seen at the drugstore- anything I have at least. I honestly can apply this with a flat top kabuki brush {tapping off the excess of course} and still great a finish and look out of it. Yeah. Crazy right? It's not because it isn't pigmented. It just works somehow. Blending it out is a cinch. I just use that same kabuki brush. This is my favorite highlight to date.

Bikini Contest
Color Icon Bronzer
The Bronzer:

This is a red based bronze color and I honestly think that red-based bronzer's can look a little more natural for people with red/pink under tones. Every year before I tan I tend to burn since my skin is pink rather than olive. That's why these kinds of bronzer's work really well for me. This also has a slight sheen and I think would qualify as a satin finish. I personally like it for contouring my face. I use Sigma's F40 Large Angled Contour brush to do so, but any angled blush brush will work for contouring.

Heather Silk
Color Icon
The Blush:

Unlike it's bronzer counterpart's, Heather Silk is a matte blush. This is a really pretty bright pink that can almost look a little intimidating in the pan. This blush is surely going to give you color. I slightly tap my brush in. Then tap of the excess, then lightly apply to the apples of my cheeks. Then I will wipe off the rest of the blush on the brush and blend it out upwards near my temple. It is so rich and pigmented. This blush will probably last me a life time. If your looking for a great mid tone pink blush that packs pigment, I think you have found it! Also the brush that this came with is a thin angled face brush. It has been perfect for contouring my nose with using Bikini Contest.

Here's some swatches:

Here's everything applied to my face:

 Side Note:
Before I end this blog, I wanted to update you all on the status of Mind Body Beauty. I obviously haven't been writing here as often as I used to. Before I started doing videos, I had my full time job and my blog. Now that I have been making videos so much, it is hard for me to juggle all 3 things (blog, Youtube channel, and my job). I just wanted to let you all know that my blogging time is less apparent and I would rather make videos it seems. Sie la Vie. So, yeah! Let me know what you think. Expect around 4 blog post's a month. Maybe more, maybe less. This doesn't mean this is the end of Mind Body Beauty. No way, Jose! More like a new beginning. A lot of my videos are and will be going hand in hand with this blog, so I am upgrading. Lately I have been feeling really bad about not posting to MBB as much as I used to. So this little paragraph makes me feel better that I don't have to bust out 3-4 blog post's every week. If I had all the time in the world, I totally would! I'm going down to being committed to 1 blog post a week, like I mentioned. Now I dont have to feel as bad now that I made it official. If you miss me too much I have an Instagram and Twitter account both @MeetMissJackson. Obviously you can find me on my Youtube channel. Any video I ever do that has to do with anything I talk about here on the blog, I will post here. Feel free to subscribe to my channel if you want my video's in real time, but please still follow MBB because I can make my video's a little more interactive around here. Plus, I am still  going to do normal blog post's with photos and words too. Things that have nothing to do with videos. I would hate if this place became just another place to promote my channel. Youknowwhatimean? It works for some people but for me, I feel like I have serious roots on this blog and I would feel like I am selling it down the river or something weird. That doesn't go for everyone! Just how I feel about my content, my channel, and my blog. Hopefully one day MBB can just be a place where I post no videos and it's all photo and word content. But until I get my channel off of the ground, this is how it will be. Long winded, unedited, talking-from-the-heart explanation. This is gunna be fun! Let me know what you think about it! Thank you kindly for all of your support!

thank you so much for reading!
xoxo
Erica

Whats in my Ipsy Bag || Sept

I love Ipsy bags. I say this every month, but I like them better than Birchbox for the most part because I get mainly makeup. But I kind of miss the Birchbox skin care stuff. And I also miss racking up points to buy stuff with them. Birchbox has more high end stuff, most of which is deluxe sized samples. Ipsy is all full sized drug store stuff, mainly.

This month, I must say, wasn't the very best month. In fact it was my least favorite bag out of the 4 I have purchased. There are some really good points and some bad points...

It's So Big:

Elizabeth Mott

This mascara is the best thing. It is officially one of my favorite mascara's. I think I may even like it better than my holy grail Mally's Volumizing Mascara. I have been using the later all year thanks to this kit I bought last Christmas. Just like Mally's Volumizing Mascara, It's So Big knows how to volumize and lengthen really well. I can use two coats and it won't clump and my lashes will still look full and long. MVM can get a little clumpy after the second coat. Right when I pulled the wand out of the tube, I noticed the consistency of It's So Big. It was really, really creamy. Unlike anything I have ever tried. Another point I want to make is that it can really hold a curl unlike anything I have tried. At the end of the day when it was time to take off my makeup, I noticed that my lashes were still curled. Almost like I applied my makeup an hour before. This stuff is bomb.

Eyeshadow in Purple

NYX

NYX is one of my favorite brands for lipstick but I have never tried any of their eyeshadows, surprisingly. This is a nice semi-shimmery pinkish purple eyeshadow called "Purple". I have been liking using this on the bottom lash line the past few days and I even used it in my inner corner last night for a quick pop over my eyeshadow that was already there. It's not the most pigmented but it isn't the worst either.

Kohl Eye Pencil in Obsidian

Starlooks

I have tried the Starlooks lip liner and I really like it. This eyeliner is more than what I thought it would be. It is pigmented and goes onto the inner rim smoothly. It isn't the blackest black or anything. What I don't like about it is that it seems to travel underneath my eyes and makes me look a little raccoon-y.

 

Taupe Brow Pencil

Victoria Jackson

I love this the most for the name. My last name is Jackson, after all. I have been using it and liking it. I find it is a really good color for my brows being that I am a very light blonde. Use a very light hand with it! You will see in the swatch how pigmented it is. That isn't a good thing with an eye brow pencil. I don't want to look like I drew my eyebrows on with a sharpie.

Fantabulous Lipstick in Honeycrisp

J. Cat

When I first opened it, I thought it could have been a concealer. It's not, it's totally a lipstick. I do love my nude colors and with a light hand and a little blotting after application, it can look nice. Even with someone with such light skin like me. As for the formula, it is nice. Doesn't dry out my lips but also isn't really the most creamy lipstick. It certainly isn't my first pick in nudes. My perfect nude is Pop Beauty's Rose Romance Lip Crayon.

Here's the swatches. 

Left to right:  Lipstick, Eyeshadow, Brow Pencil, Eyeliner

Here's a very yellow FOTD but it's all I got. Why didn't I stand in front of the window like usual? I thought the first picture was way cuter but this isn't about me! It's about that mascara. The second photo shows it a little better. I am also wearing the brow pencil, lipstick, eye liner, and purple eyeshadow on my lower lash line.

So obviously this wasn't the best of the Ipsy bag's. But I absolutely loved It's So Big. You guy's gotta try it. 

What was your favorite thing from this month's Ipsy bag?

xoxo

Erica

15: Breezy Bronzey Face & Makeup

So Day 15 (or in my case post 15) is a FOTD. I have had this idea in my back pocket for a while now & it came together really nicely! I hope you guys like it!

Looking at this picture, I think if I was going to dinner I would probably line my lash line. It looks too casual for me for me to wear out to eat or to a club or something. But for every day, it is perfect.

But I have been wearing this look everyday as you see in the picture! (minus the heavy, Revlon Colorstay foundation! too hot!) I usually go for some sort of base color (usually it's Nyx's Jumbo Pencil in Milk) but I just have been lazy! plus, I do not feel like layering things in this hot weather & I must say this is a really awesome subtle look! Go me!

I swear sometimes pictures just don't do it justice!

Face

Revlon Color Stay Foundation

Revlon Photo Ready Concealer

mark. blush in Urban Glow a peachy coral

Laura Gellar Baked Blush N Brighten in Honey Dipped contour

Nyx Tango with Bronze Powder in Confessions of a Tanaholic all over face

Nuxe Dry Oil in Golden Shimmer highlights of face

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Wet N Wild In Getting Sunburned (Shocker!)

-Pink on lid

-Gold balls of eyes & in tear duct

-Stila Coco in crease (matte brown)

-Stila Smudge Stick Liner in Moray (a deep olive green) in water line

-Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips liner in Brown in water line too

-Revlon Color Stay Liner in Black (tight line)

Lips

Avon Ultra Color Rich Lipstick in Twinkle Pink

Smashbox Lip Gloss in Illume

I am in love with this lip combo! A blog to come on it soon enough (:

& BTW, I am doing another challenge on my personal blog! I dont know what is with me & these challenges but if you wanna join in or check it out, it is Meet Miss Jackson!

If you wanna join this challenge, Day 1 has all of the info for each day! If you decide to do it let me know please! thank you guys!

xoxo

Erica

FOTD: Colorful Smokey Eye

Hey-You-Guys! The colorful smokey eye is one of the season's trends according to The Makeup Geek. I actually am not one for an extremely colorful eye. I like my neutrals: brown/bronze colors, and my absolute favorite ones to use are taupe's with any base color (ex: Urban Decay's Toasted, which I would call a pinky purple taupe) Usually if I am going to use colors, I will go for olive colors, purple colors, pink colors, and on occasions blue which I only use one of those colors for a look and the rest are neutrals. But when I seen this picture of Marlena with this colorful smokey eye look, I have never seen anything better. Check out her tutorial here

Needless to say, I had to re-create it. I really love her choice of colors but I didn't have a few of them so I decided to do a spin off using a deep purple, medium purple, hot pink & a lighter blue. As for the face, I obviously tried to keep it light and simple. I used a cream medium coverage foundation. I am not too fond of medium coverage but I had no other choice. I was out of my foundation! I originally went with a medium pink lip color because I hate the rule that if your doing a colorful/vibrant eye, you should stick to lighter colors on cheeks and lips. Once I started taking pictures of my face, I realized why that is a rule. It just didn't look right. Maybe that's due to the fact that I am just a sucker for Nyx's Matte Lip in Tokyo which is a pale pink. You be the judge.

Face:

Foundation: Avon's Healthy Makeup Mousse Foundation (similar to Maybelline's Dream Mousse Foundation)

Blush: Mark Good Glowing Blush in After Glow- a really pretty Shimmery Coral
Contour: Laura Gellar Baked Blush N Brighten in Honey Dip
Finishing Powder: ELF HD Powder

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion  

Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (on lid, stopping at crease)
YBF Beauty Brow Pencil (Universal Taupe)
Revlon Growlucious Mascara
ELF's Eyeshadow Quad in Drama (Matte Black Color) as Eye Liner for the Top Lash Line
Revlon Colorstay Eye Liner in Black (waterline)

GlamifEye Eye Shadow Palette (pictured below)

1. Outer corner and slightly above crease

2. Outer Crease

3. Balls of Eyes. Right smack in the middle!

4. Inner Corner 

 

Lips:

Nyx Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo (surprise, surprise)

Revlon Lipstick in Prim Rose

Whenever I take pictures for any FOTD, I feel like I can never get a good shot! After 2 outfit changes, 3 lipstick changes, Using my ELF HD Powder a million times, and 500 thousand different poses, angles, and faces, I was happy to get a few shots. Here's a couple more: 1 with my favorite shirt I got at Kohls and another with.....well, I am not sure wtf I am doing there!

I actually did the colorful smokey eye once before this, following the tutorial using a blue, a green, & a purple which I actually liked better than this. I didn't take pictures of it though so if you are interested in seeing my original colorful smokey eye, I would be happy to re-create it and do another FOTD. Let me know!

Thanx For Reading! 

Stay Beautiful!

xoxo

Erica

FOTD: Picadilly Purple & Dolly Pink

I haven't done one in so so long! I have been so busy and half the time I do 1 shadow, liner & mascara- good to go! The other 1/2 of the time I do get ready, & do a nice eye look, I dont have any time to take pictures!  I dont know about you guys but it takes me like 15-20 minutes to get good ones lol

Like always, I have been loving purples on my eyes. I really feel my best when I wear purple and yes I do have brown eyes (obviously). I think they really compliment well. So Alex (bfff) bought me this sweet little palette. for 3 bucks. A great Christmas present! I think im going to showcase it in my Christmas buying guide because I have some swatches and some pictures I already took.

I thought it would be fun to also include what brushes I used for each step- ever since I ordered new brushes from Sigma and Elf, I took my talent up a notch! My Aunt Lori always says "it's not the makeup you have, but the brushes you use" in her philosophical tone....well she doesn't have a philosophical tone,  I just thought it sounded right.

Face:

Maybelline 24/7 Concealer- Actually just put this around my eyes as they can become red- I apply this with my finger with a patting motion as opposed to rubbing it on.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup- I apply this to the back of my hand and then dab my blush + bronzer brush from mark. in the product. This brush is basically a flat top kabuki. Then with a stippling motion, go to town. I always like to start on my neck line and then go up my face. I personally like to use sponges better then any brush. I find it applies much more evenly and smoother. Maybe I just haven't found the right brush. 


Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer- I actually have been putting this on before and after I apply my foundation/concealer. I heard it will help mattify your face. I personally do think that it may but I think it is a combination of this and my ELF HD powder.

ELF HD Powder- Like I just mentioned, it will help mattify your face and does so, I really love this stuff. I find that the puff it comes with works best to apply it.

ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder- I like to dip my Large Angled Contour Sigma brush (F40) in both side's twice, shake off the excess and contour my cheeks bones, taking it around my fore head and also behind my ears, swiping it towards the center of my neck. If you are new to Contouring, I highly recommend watching all of the videos you can find on it. Take what you want and leave the rest- that's how I learned.

Light Pink Blush- This is a generic blush that I got last year in a Markwin's Christmas Gift and I love it so much. It reminds me a lot of Dandelion by Benefit (which I dont have, but want so badly!) a perfect pale pink for a lighter skin tone like mine. I Apply this on my apples and then sweep up towards my hairline, Following right next to where I contoured. I use ELF's stippling brush (picture) which works well.

Eyes:

YBF Automatic Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe- I got this in my Birchbox and I have been loving it ever since

Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer- I apply this with my finger's on to my lid.

Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk- I went underneath my brow and near/around my tear ducts. Then with my ring finger, I blended it out- perfect.

Physician's Formula For Blue Eyes Shadow- With my Sigma Eye Shading E55 Brush (a dense flat shader brush) I grab the lightest color you see highlighted in the picture below and apply that exactly where I put the Milk Jumbo Pencil. I do not tap off excess- I first go in near my tear duct and then what ever is left on my brush, take it to my brow bone. 

Hot Looks Glamif Eyeshadow- This is the palette that is only $3 at Dollar General. With the other clean side of my E55, I pick up the color you see highlighted below from the palette. I simply pat this right next to where the silver color is on my lid. I took this color all the way to the end of my lid. I like to blend the 2 colors together, switching sides of the brush and pulling colors opposite direction of each other until blended.

Mark. Piccadilly Eyeshadow (matte Purple)- If I could go back and do it differently, I would have made this my last color that I apply in the outer v with my Small Tapered Blending E45 by Sigma (which is a tear drop shape). But with this FOTD, I applied this in and above my crease with my Sigma Tapered Blending Brush (E35) in a windshield wiper motion, pulling up towards the edge of my eye brow to create come contour on my eye. 

  

Physician's Formula For Blue Eyes Shadow- The darker color you see highlighted (in the above picture of the palette), I did the exact same thing with that as I did with Piccadilly

At the very end, I wiped off my E35 really well and picked a generic color that matches my skin tone to blend the previous 2 colors. I just went back and fourth on the harsh line right below my brow bone. 

Wet n Wild Cream liner in Black- I tightlined my eyes with a slanted eyeshadow brush which I find works really well - I got it from Icing, it's awesome! Then I squished the liner in between the top lashes to make sure I dont have any gaps of my skin color showing.

Revlon Colorstay Liner in Black- I put this in my water line and also adding another layer on the top too. I didnt concentrate that much on the top water line, I just closed my eyes and ran the pencil across it.

Lastly I took my ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen to line my lids. I just bought this a couples weeks ago and as you can tell, it is very splotchy and separates which makes it hard to draw a straight line. I worked a little better when I first got it, but since then it has dried out. I don't recommend this thing to anyone......

Lips

Nyx Lip Liner in Dolly Pink - Lined those fuckers

Nyx Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo- Put on my lips.....easy enough! Waited for it to dry.....

Revlon Lipstick in Prim Rose -over top of it all

that completes my how-to look! I hope you guys liked this format for my FOTD and took at least one thing away from it - what have you guys been wearing on your face today? We would love to know! 

Till next time,

xoxo Erica J

FOTD: What Do You Think of Pink Shadow? Birthday Look!!

A famous makeup artist once said “Pink is the one color that makes everyone look pretty instantly, and it will work with everyone's skin tone. It's very girlie and very ballerina, a very youthful, almost childlike look.”- Bobbi Brown

 I have seen and heard from so many beauty girl's, guru, whatever- that pink is a really hard color to pull off- a lot of people say that it can make you look tired....You be the judge!


I do have a lighter complexion, so when I first began to experiment with pink I figured maybe that was why I thought I could pull it off. Well, then I got really tan, and I realized that I could still pull it off. Even tho im not tan anymore.....I guess you just have to test it out to see how it will look best on you.


The pink I am using is a really cool toned pink- It's a punky pink. It's a color called luvstruck from Mark. Here's a picture of it from a while back when I reviewed Jesse's Girl Primer. 

Since I have a cooler complexion, this color works for me. However, I like the way warmer colors look on me too, that my cool tones shouldnt be able to pull off. so if your a warm tone- I think this certain color (luvstruck) would work for you too, with the right colors to accompany it. Inspiration for the look at the bottom!

Before I go on and on about this pink party im throwing (for my birthday!!! today's my b-day!) I wanted to show you my hurr. This is next day hair. The day before this, my hair had pretty tight curls but I think I like the next day better. Sometimes I curl my hair this way the night before because I know I want waves. I used a spiral curling iron for this and it works pretty well for the Kim Kardashian waves I got goin on. If you would like to know a little more about how to achieve these locks, let me know in the comments and I would happily do a video for you guys (:

products I used (hair): 

3 in 1 hair spray: it is amazing! holds curls, leaves your hair softer instead of crunchy

L'Oreal Hair Putty near the roots to lift em up just a little bit.

 

 

 

Face:

-Revlon Colorstay Foundation

-Maybelline 24/7 Concealer

-Laura Gellar Baked Blush in Honey Dipped (contour)

-Blush - A really pretty light pink (off brand) I think it is a really beautiful color for lighter skin tones, like myself

-Highlight- Covergirl Shadow that the name wore off of. It's a light biscotti shadow color that works fine for a highlight. In fact, it's very comparable to top right color i have pictured here:

 Blush I used pictured above

Eyes:

-Jesse's Girl Shadow Primer

-Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk

-Revlon Cream Shadow in Wild Orchids. the middle purple color which is the one closest to the lightest color in the palette (it creases tho so im not too sure if I recommend this)

-Pink- Mark. Luvstruck

-Purple- Mark. Rebel (outer v)
-Physician's Formula "for blue eyes" shimmer shadow. I used the lightest blue in the palette to put along my bottom lash line to open up my eyes a little more

-Liner: Physician's Formula Shimmer Stick liner in Black (not very shimmery, which im cool with)

-Wet n Wild Cream Liner in Black

-Mark. liquid liner

Lips:

same as usual- NYX Tokyo matte cream and Maybelline Born With It Lipstick- anybody have any good suggestions?- a light pink lip color? 

and like I said, inspiration for this look: Elf Eye shadow in Punk Funk and Michelle Phan's Birthday Look

What do you guys think about the pink? love it or hate it? 

 

ok yeah so now I challenge you to try a pink shadow! I think it's flattering and I dont think it makes me look tired -so all in all, Bobbi Brown 1 Guru's 0. Sorry Guru's, yah no I love yah! If you wanna try this little challenge that I totally made up off the top of my head, please link, link, link!! 

As always, thanx for reading (:

FOTD: Makeup Geek's Antique Gold...w/ My Own Twist of Course!

Hey beautiful bloggers! How have you guys been? ...me? doing pretty damn good! Let me give yah a little background to my story:

This past monday I started to look into going back to school. I have been paying off my loans to do so and I finally got a letter of recommendation from the loan place to go back-yay! so I went down to our local University (YSU) and found out I cannot attend there because I owe them money too- hey nobody's perfect! esp not me!

.....driving back home a bit sad, walking into my door, checking my caller ID. Casal's Aveda Institute called me about coming into check out their beauty school and they could not have called at a better time- There school is a bit expensive and I cant imagine paying as much as they want for the degree...a makeup degree for that matter - I know you can start behind a counter with out any certificate.

To make a (really) long story short, they are holding a competition that if you win, you get a scholarship to attend their school from first day until the very last with a free ride. If I win, I pay nothing!

Now your wondering, what does this competition consist of? You bring in your "model" (for me that will be my bfff Alex) & I need to come up with a glamour evening look- which leads me into my FOTD - I like to call it "Antiquing for your face"- whatever, it works.

A lot of the eye shadows are off brand and really don't have any name(s), so what im gunna do is post a picture of the color/product of the off-brand shadows instead. That way, if you wanna re-create this, you can refer to the color and make it your own!

Face:
-Concealer: Maybelline 24/7 Super Stay
-Foundation: Revlon Colorstay
-Powder: Maybelline Dream Matte Powder
-Blush: The bottom of the pan is blush- I love it! pretty light pink color! PICTURE
-Bronzer- Laura Gellar: Blush N' Brighten in Honey Dipped
-Highlighter- Covergirl Eye Shadow in Bedazzled Biscotti


Lips: I almost always do my "signature" lip combo which is:
-Liner: An L.A. Colors liner that dosent have a name. It's a medium pink color
-Lipstick: Maybelline Born With It
-Nyx Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo


Eyes:
-Primer: Jesse's Girl Eye Primer review here
-Extra Base: on brow bone and inner tear duct Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk
-Water Line: Physician's Formula liner in Black (yah no, that 3 pack I got)
-Tight line & Lid Liner: Mark. cream liner in  Entourage (black side) - I need a new one! it is going bad (obviously)
-Crease Color- Covergirl Eye Enhancers- Sea Glass Palette in the color Jade
-Blending Color & Above Crease Color: Clinique in Beach Bronze
-Lid Color & Tear Duct- Color Works - Yellow Top Color (picture below)

-Outer V color- Darkest Green Color of the palette Bottom Right

I got this idea from this site on this page ! I love Makeup Geek (& Jangsara for that matter) and I think she is perfect person to learn from if your wanting to take beauty a little more serious

Oh yeah in case anybody is wondering what I will be going to school for (if I win) will be Esthiology and that covers makeup, skin care, brows, & body care.

Any tips you can possibly give me? Anything at all! Comment, People! Take Care and Thanx for reading (: