What this slacker has been up to LOL....

I know, I know, I always promise to stay but something manages to pull me away and it's hard to maintain. Blogging is a full-time, dedicated thing. A drive I once had, and currently struggling to find the natural flow of being back into this territory. I don't even think my fingers recognize this place lol. Even though it's nessasarymakeup, I think I am slowly transitioning to other areas of my brain, so there WILL be sporadic posts of anything that comes to mind. Fashion posts, crafty posts (I will post about how I made some of my wedding stuff for you engaged gals. I couldn't post them before since I was trying to keep everything under wraps!). So you've been warned. :)

I am hoping I can stick around this time, even if not everyday, often. That's doable. I barely try to do makeup looks nowadays, usually sporting tinted moisurizer, eyeliner, mascara and some gloss which has become my "everyday look". I wouldn't be surprised if people even read this anymore, but at least it's a place for me, it's well.....home.

Well the reason this time that i've been MIA, is that I was busy planning a wedding--MINE! Given that we made mostly everything, a lot of prep work was needed in order to stay sane. I got married almost a month ago, March 25, 2012 to the love of my life and we just got back from our honeymoon in Hawaii about a week ago. So much to update on and post about, I am just trying to do things at my pace so I don't get discouraged from continuing to write here. I apologize for any questions that went unanswered. I will eventually catch up to the blogging world!

Professional wedding photos should be arriving tomorrow or sometime this week so I will do an official "wedding post" and shower it with pictures so there's proof of my absence haha. In the meantime, I know I didn't get a chance to post any of our engagement photos we took back in January, so here are just a few from our AWESOME photographer, Kevin Le Vu. Please check him out if you are looking for a photographer, he's truly talented!

 

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Wedding Look Experiment #1

So I thought i'd play around with some makeup and hair looks for the big day (90 days away from today!), just to sorta get an idea of what look I am going for....I definitely want something romantic. :)

I bought this birdcage veil with a huge ivory flower (and comb) at Forever 21 for $6.80 (can you say bargain steal!??), I just curled my hair and sprayed some gel (Tresemme Spray Gel) to give it more texture and makes everything stay in place without making your hair feel "crispy". I just put my hair up in a loose, messy bun, and just applied the veil; pinning the actual veil down with bobby pins so it stayed in place. I actually liked how it came out, the whole vintage glam vibe is definitely classic.

For my makeup (not gonna wear red lipstick on my wedding day, but thought it'd be fun to use Ruby Woo since it was Christmas day after all!), I used:

- MAC Ruby Woo lipstick
- MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in NC35
- MAC Careblend Pressed Powder in Medium Dark
- MAC e/s in Bisque and Bamboo all over the lids
- MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
- L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara
- Ardell Lashes
- MAC e/s in Chocolate Brown to fill in eyebrows
- Milani Blush in Cherries on Top on cheeks

Ruby Woo looks great on all skin tones (in my opinion), it has a blue undertone that just looks amazing because it doesn't look like a true red on, so it definitely draws attention to the lips. It's really matte/dry, so I apply a tiny coat of Vaseline on my lips before applying to help it go on smoother. 

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Argan Oil From NumeStyle

I recently had the opportunity to try an Argan Oil from NuMe (www.numeonline.com, 4 fl. oz $59.99) which is described on their website as "Argan Oil is rich in Vitamin E and other beneficial fatty acids. Specially formulated for rapid absorption and penetration our pure Argon Oil brings a whole new level of shine and luster to even the most ravaged and damaged hair."

Often times I dye my hair, or use a lot of hot tools like curling irons, flat irons, and blow dryers; which overtime, can damage my hair or make it feel dry and brittle. I have heard so many positive things about Argan oil as an aid to help moisturize the skin repairing damaged dry skin and rough spots, or to add in foundations; so it's no surprise that that it's making it's way in the market to help dry or damaged hair.

After I shower, I apply a tiny bit of the oil (the size of a quarter) in my palms and rub my hands together to sort of warm it up, and then I apply it evenly all over my hair, concentrating on dry spots such as the ends of my hair, and then comb it through to ensure it's evenly distributed. You can immediately notice how shiny and healthier your hair looks and feels. This oil is great at restoring moisture in your hair.

The bottle itself is roughly the size of your palm (4 fl oz) and made of glass, since you don't need a lot of product to begin with, this bottle will definitely last you a long time (and I have really long hair!). The only thing I wish it had was a pump or some kind of stopper to avoid any leaks or spills, or even excess product (although the cap screws on pretty tight so I personally have not experienced any leaks).

 

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Happy Halloween! (Zombie School Girl Look)

Happy Halloween everyone! Freaky huh? I was inspired by Petrilude's look he did on YouTube from the MAC Face Charts a few years ago, and thought it would be a fun way to incorporate it in my Zombie school girl look at work for more texture.

Every year at work we dress up and have a fun lil party and costume contest, I usually never go all out for Halloween, but I do love holidays in general so I do tend to get festive for the sake of it; so this year I decided to go crazy with makeup and do a zombie look (and then added the school girl flare). The contacts really make the costume in my opinion. :) It was pretty funny getting weird and fearful looks, and scaring my co-workers! LOL!

It's always cool seeing the other costumes too, and above all, seeing all the creativity involved. There was Jack Sparrow (I loved his costume!), a cowgirl, a cute sumo wrestler, Jessica Rabbit, a Rubik's cube, Audrey Hepburn, Lara Croft, a gypsy, Black Swan, a devil, Steve Jobs, a pirate, and a referee.

Here are the products I used:

- Ben Nye Scar Wax (for the forehead wound), applied it with Ben Nye Spirit Gum
- Used Ben Nye Cuts and Abrasions Wheel for all the "bruised" areas to add more depth
- Added fake theatrical blood on the wound (forehead)

- For the eye, I used a zipper from Jo-Ann's and cut it to size
- Shaded it in with a red Sephora chunky pencil, then the red color in the Ben Nye Cuts and Abrasions Wheel. I shaded the bottom with MAC e/s in "Carbon", then put a tiny bit of fake blood on top.
- Used MAC l/s in "Fleshpot" for dead looking lips
- Stitches tattoos from Walmart

- For Zombie teeth, I used Ben Nye Tooth Paint in Zombie Rot (Green color) and Black

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Halloween Look: Pop Art Inspired

Outlined everything with black pencil eyeliner and liquid eyeliner, shaded tears with Mehron Creme Blend stick in White (also used it for the dots and powdered MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder in "Medium Dark" on top to tone it down and not make it stark white), and Mehron Aqua Paint Pastel Palette as well as a few MAC eyeshadows.

To cover my real eyebrows, I used Kryolan Eyebrow Wax to cover my real eyebrows, and powdered it on top and drew them in using a black eyeliner. Also used the White Mehron paint to give that reflection look on my lips, and used the black eyeliner again to line my lips. Lipstick used is MAC's Mattene lipstick in "Immodest".

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Wedding Planning Progress!

I know, I have been terrible with blogging lately. I wish I was super woman and can do it all. With 155 days left until the big day, I have been so busy planning, gluing, taping, and basically trying to get everything together (without any papercuts!). Since I am pretty much doing a lot of things by hand- it's 150+ of each thing, it's taking up a lot of my sleep time LOL. But I know it's gonna be worth it!

We still have a lot more things to do (can't wait to do some cake tasting!), but I am confident we can get everything done in time, even though there are times I ask myself "why did I think it was a bright idea to make everything myself?" haha. We are also thinking about making our own centerpieces. But I can happily say I finally got my dress! I love it and I cannot wait to wear it. I plan on wearing it to the grocery store, when I sleep, etc. LOL. Hey, gotta make use of it!

About to do more wedding and halloween errands (since we are having our yearly halloween contest at work), so I will make this short, have a great weekend everyone!

Here are some pics of some of the progression so far....

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Paw Palette (www.crystalpowder.com)

Calling all makeup artists! The "Paw Palette" is an adjustable strap-on palette to fit any size wrist (www.crystalpowder.com); allowing you to mix and apply makeup as you work your magic on your client. It keeps things sanitary as opposed to applying makeup to the back of your hand, and you can use it your palm if that's more comfortable. The palette itself, is a white nonporous board and it's reusable and easy to clean. And the straps are made of durable elastic band and is easy to adjust.

You can also inquire if you need extra long straps or a special size, but it definitely fits most sizes! I like that you can efficiently and quickly work on clients since you can put on swatches of concealer, foundation, lipstick, etc all on the palette and have everything within reach.

You can purchase this palette for $14.95 at the Cinema Secrets store in North Hollywood, or at www.crystalpowder.com

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