I found my new winter foundation!

I finally bought my winter foundation and I couldn't be any happier : ) I have tried many samples of a whole lot of foundations. I am very happy with the chosen winner LOL. 

And the winner is.......... LAURA MERCIER CREAM SMOOTH FOUNDATION : )

Laura created this modern, lightweight foundation that floats over skin without visibly settling into fine lines. The hydrating formula includes a multipeptide complex infused with Dermaxyl and advanced optical diffusers that help to visibly smooth out lines and wrinkles.
It is best for normal-to-dry skin. According research you should see reduced lines and wrinkles in four weeks of use.

Cream smooth foundation is recommended to be applied with your fingers. Because it is a gel base foundation and your body heat will make the application easier. I personally do not apply it with my fingers. I run my mixing plate under HOT water. After the mixing plate is nice and hot I scoop some product out onto it and it melts and turns into a liquid. I then use my SIGMA F80 ( flat top kabuki brush ) to buff in the foundation. Using a regular foundation brush with this product you are going to see streaks. If I do not have time for that I just scoop some out and dabb it on the four points on my face and buff it out with my F-80.

At first impression of my sample that I had gotten, I tought that I will not be getting this because it was so thick in consistency . But a LITTLE definitely goes a long way. The consistency of this foundation is very much like MACs Studio Sculpt foundation. The coverage is very much the same also. Medium to full coverage. Studio sculpt is a little bit lighter. But they are so close that you can hardly tell the difference in the two. I have seen in a review someone compare it to dream mousse foundation. NO WAY! This is a gel base foundation I don't see how that can be the same as a mousse consistency. The only thing that similar is the packaging THAT's ALL lol.

Exact match
Laura Mercier - Tawny Beige
MAC - NC 35

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary eyeshadow collection.

Urban decay has done it again! They launched a 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow collection that made everyone go crazy, pre-ordered and go on waiting list. This palette in my opinion is one of the best palettes they have come out with. With 15 amazing NEW shades one shade for each year out of the 15 years of Urban Decay. This collection has a great mix of neutrals, brights, dark and lights. All of these 15 eyeshadows are limited edition colors. You will find that with this collection the eyeshadows are amazingly smooth and easy to blend. The new colors are...

Deeper- deep shimmery golden brown

M.I.A.- dark velvet brown

Ace- dark gunmetal

Blackout- darkest, most saturated black glitter

Half Truth- deep grayish purple
Tainted- pale matte purple with golden shimmer

Junkshow- metallic bright pink with slight blue shift

Omen- metallic bright purple with blue shift

Evidence- deep metallic blue

Deep end- bright teal

Midnight Rodeo- brown pearl with silver

Midnight 15- oyster pearl with silver glitter

Vanilla- creamy white gold

Flow- soft peach shimmer

Chase- bright bronze

Urban Decay's 15th Anniversary eyeshadow collection (SRP$55) is available at de hora, ulta and selected macys's locations. Or online at sephora.com, ultra.com, Macys.com, beauty.com and urbandecay.com

If you do not own any of Urban Decays palettes I highly recommend this collection. You have your range of neutrals and colors and with the compact box with mirror it's easy to travel with : )

URBAN DECAY 2011 FALL COLLECTION

THE REVOLUTION

The revolution by Urban Decay is $20 and is available for purchase at Sephora, ULTA, or Beauty.com    

Urban Decay has come out with a sleek cageless design for an eyelash curler. As a feelance makeup artist I have come across applying false eyelashes and having the problem of trying to curl the entire eyelash. It has always ended up being extra work trying to get the best way to curl the whole lash. With THE REVOLUTION high performance eyelash curler I no longer have to worry about that problem. If you want to focus on just curling the outer part of your lashes you can do so with THE REVOLUTION. The best way to use THE REVOLUTION is to rest the curved section completely against your upper eyelid and to use the right hand to curl the right eyelash and the left hand to curl the left eyelash. Also with a gentle hand you can actually use this to put on false lashes : ) It comes with 5 extra cushy replacement pads which is recommended to be changed every 3 months. THE REVOLUTION it's self should be replaced after 18 months. I am very happy with this product and I recommend it to anyone that loves to curl their eyelashes. And for all the PROs It is a MUST HAVE : ) 

                           

URBAN LASHES

Urban Lashes can be found at  Urban Decay for $15 and is available for purchase at Sephora, ULTA, or Beauty.com  

Urban Decay has come out with 4 brand new eyelashes which range form dramatic to more of a natural look.   The BLACK VELVET lashes are a velvety full lash with a mink-like texture these lashes are for those that like that full dramatic look. Deffinitly a lash to have in the stash : )   The second new lashes are the INSTAFLARE lash. Instaflare lashes are a 1/3 lash with a rounded flare at the outer corner. These are perfect for that cat eye look.   The third new addition to the line of lashes are the FLIRT lash. The FLIRT lash is a 3/4 lash that would give you a slight full look without going overboard. I love these lashes because NO ONE can tell that you are wearing them. I wear them and get asked what mascara do I use :)The fourth but not least is the SLY lash. These are by far my favorite lashes. They are a full lash that is thinned out on the inner lashes and have a invisable band for a natural look.  All Urban Lashes come with and Urban Decay iridescent glue : )

MY NEW &  FAVORITE 24/7 WATERPROOF LIQUID EYELINER : )

24/7 Liquid eyeliner can be found at  Urban Decay for $18 and is available for purchase at Sephora, ULTA, or Beauty.com  

Urban Decay has come out with a new 24/7 waterproof liquid eyeliner that is absolutly my favorite. I have been seaching for a waterprrof liquid eyeliner for a very long time, that also has a very fine synthetic BRUSH not felt tip. This product lives up to its name 24/7 and waterproof : ) I love the the range of colors and LOVE LOVE LOVE perversion from the 15th anniversary pencil collection. Now I get to have it in a liquid form : ) With this eyeliner you can achieve that fine line that everyone stuggles to get with no problem : ) If you love eyeliner then you will love this eyeliner! As for me they are a must have : ) The new 24/7 liquid eyeliner comes in 11 different shades ranging from matte to glossy and even shimmery finishes.

Bobby Dazzel - sparkly, bright pearl

Demolition - deep, matte brown

El Dorado - sparkly, canary gold

Perversion - carbon black

Radium - bright, sparkly blue

Retrograde - glittery, deep purple

Revolver - sparkly, dark gray

Sabbath - deep, matte navy blue

Siren - Sparkly, mermaid tail blue/green

Smog - sparkly, golden medium 

Woodstock - sparkly HOT PINK : )

              

  SUPER-SATURATED HIGH GLOSS LIP COLOR

Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color can be found at  Urban Decay for $19 and is available for purchase at Sephora, ULTA, or Beauty.com  

LUSH LASH

Lush Lash Mascara is $20 can be found at  Urban Decay for $19 and is available for purchase at Sephora, ULTA, or Beauty.com  

Lush lash is a mascara that works double-time, thickening lengthening and building them all at once. Infused with the same growth serum contained in the Lush Lash system, Lush Lash mascara promotes lash growth with daily use. Though not "technically" waterproof the formula stays intact, showing no signs of running, sumdging,or flaking. With the hourglass-shaped brush it is ideal for applying evenly : )

URBANBROW

                      Urbanbrow Tint can be found at  Urban Decay for $20 and is available for purchase at Sephora, ULTA, or Beauty.com  

Urbanbrow brow tints feature an ultra-fine brush tip for precision brow shaping. The brush tip was made to create light, feathery, natural looking brow hairs. The blonde precision tip brow tint works on blondes, red heads, and those with light brown hair. The Brunette brow tint works with medium to dark brown hair all the way to black. Made with a water-resistant formula it does not budge. For more of a defined brow just layer strokes.

This high-powered clear gel provides all-day hold yet leaves brows felling soft, never sticky, stiff or crunchy......no flaking either. I love this brow gel beats all the waxes that I have used my new found fav : )

Urbanbrow Styling Brush & Setting Gelcan be found at  Urban Decay for $20 and is available for purchase at Sephora, ULTA, or Beauty.com  

I was given these products for free for the purpose to review. This is 100% my opinion on these products.

INGLOT eyeshadow breakdown.

                                              

Matte: As you'd expect, matte shades have a dull finish, without any shimmer or sparkle.

Pearl: Another fairly standard term, these shades have a satiny to slightly shimmery frost finish, but are devoid of separate particles of glitter.

DS: Stands for Double Sparkle, these are satin (semi-matte) based shades with an added dose of fine glitter, though most of the people I've spoken to that own these say the base reads as a matte.

AMC: Stands for "advanced makeup component", This collection is perspiration resistant, contains vitamin E, and is talc-free. From what I could gather, the majority of AMC shades are a matte base with glitter, with the exception of #63, which is complete matte black without shimmer or glitter

AMC Shine: Same as AMC above, but more finely milled so these have a bit more sheen to them. According to the breakdown I was given, shades 24-36, 39, 41, and 43-49 compare to MAC's Veluxe Pearl finish, which is a soft metallic finish overlaid with pearl. In other words, shimmery, frosty or metallic, but not glittery. Other shades in the line have a high-frost to glittery finish.

                       INGLOT eyeshadows vary in quantity of product also but nothing under 2.3 : )

AMC 2.7g

AMC SHINE 3.5g

PEARL 2.7g

D.S. 2.5g

MATTE 2.3g

                                     SOME OTHER BRAND WEIGHTS ARE BELOW

MAC Eyeshadow 1.5g

MAC Mineralize eyeshadow 2.2g

Urban Decay Round eyeshadows 1.4g

Makeup Forever Eyeshadows 2.5g

                                   THE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK IS THE FREEDOM SYSTEM

 
A do-it-yourself, pick-your-palette of eyeshadows, face powders, lipsticks, creme concealers, blushes, brow powder and brow waxes.
Palettes come in squares and rounds of 2,4,5,10,20 for eyeshadows. I have heard the 20 is limited edition but so far NYC store says it is here to stay : ) 1-2 shadows are $7 each. 3-9 shadows are $5 each 10+ shadows are $4.50 each. A lot of people like round shadows BUT you get more product in the squares.

BLENDING BRUSHES

1. First be sure to use a good eyeshadow base so that your eyeshadows stay put. While many bases are colorless or made in “nude” shades, there are some like MAC paint pots that come in a variety of shades that can make your eyeshadow more vibrant and pop.

2. Where you place shadow colors is important since darker colors make things look smaller and lighter colors make things appear larger. So for instance if you have close-set eyes, you’ll want to avoid applying darker colors on the inner portions of the eyes as this will make the eyes seem even more close-set. Highlight shades (either very sheer shimmery eyeshadow in beige, gold, or silver; or an eyeshadow or concealer about 2-3 shades lighter than your skin tone) go on the brow bone and in the inner corners of the eyes.
3. Apply lighter colors first especially if your eye brush collection is limited. And be sure to dust the brush into a towel or paper towel to remove the previous color’s remnants off the brush.
4. When you apply color move the brush in a very quick and small circular motion. Use an eyeshadow blending blush like MAC #224 for softer blending or a densely packed one like MAC #217 for heavier blending. Avoid “muddying” colors by blending lightly at the line where they meet. If you have trouble with bigger brushes, use a smaller blending brush like MAC #231.

Some other blending brushes that are excellent are sigma brushes. Everyones eyes are different shapes and sizes so what might be a perfect brush for me might be too small for you. But it is good to have a range of blending brushes you can achieve different looks.

The smaller and denser the brush is the more it is going to blend in one spot and not blend a large area. The larger and softer the brush is, it will blend a large area and is good for smokey eye looks.

PIGMENTS ARE UNIVERSAL

Pigments are basically highly concentrated loose color powders that come in different finishes: Matte, Metallic and Frost. They are a dream to blend, do not streak or cake and last forever. And since they go on super pigmented, you only need a teeny bit each time. You can also mix them together to get the color you want.

Another awesome thing about pigments is that they are multi-purpose. Below are some of the ways you can use them:

*Eyeliner: Wet your liner brush with saline solution or MAC Water Base Mixing Medium and line away.

*Blush: Use a small powder brush and apply with a light hand.

*Highlighter: Same as above. Some good colors are Vanilla, Lily White, Frozen White, White Gold, Pink Opal, Provence, Fairlite, Naked and Frost.

*Lipgloss: Mix with clear gloss and apply. Some good colors are Apricot Pink, Pink Pearl, Rose, Electric Coral and Fuschia.

*Nail Polish: Mix with clear nail polish and apply.

MAC pigments are about $20. If you find one that you fall in love with, it is worth it to buy because you can do multiple things with it.

Eyeshadow base (Primer) makes your eyeshadow last throughout the day.

The key to long lasting and non creasing eyeshadow is a base. There are a lot of products in the market that deliver the same results. Everyone is different and will like different products.

 I have tried the popular too faced shadow insurance. Personally I don't like it. When using this you have to add an extra step to your makeup routine. After you apply the shadow insurance you have to apply a eyeshadow (one that matches your skin tone). Because it is going to make the eyeshadow colors that you want to use easier to blend. Shadow insurance after it dries is a real sticky base and holds shadows well but hard to blend. That's why the extra step of shadow is necessary.

Another eyeshadow base that I have tried and continue to use is the Urban Decay primer potion. I really like this product and it is very easy to work with.

I also like using MAC paint pots. I have a good range of colors that I can use depending on the type of look that I am going for. You can even use them as a eyeshadow alone.

Here is a video of my current paint pot collection.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6hQiHtdf0c