Removing Inglot e/s Pans Using Magnets

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Jon's Video: Removing Inglot e/s Pans (LOL!)

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Katie B Cosmetics - Retractable Brush Kit

I have a fascination with retractable brushes. I just love how compact they are and that they have a cap to protect the bristles, it's truly a space saver in my little makeup bag. It's rare to find an actual kit of retractable brushes in this industry in general, yes there are many retractable brushes, but I personally have not seen a kit full of them! Talented makeup artist Katie B has her own line of cosmetics, including a retractable brush kit made of synthetic fibers, that retracts to full-size brushes.  The entire 10-piece set (including the carrying/storage bag) is $250, but if you use code: nessasarymakeup20, you will get 20% off your order! You can also buy the brushes individually in case you don't want or need the entire kit.

The kit includes the following brushes:
- Kabuki
- Stipling Brush
- Blush Brush
- Contour Brush
- Shadow Brush
- Angled Brush
- Smudge Brush
- Blending Brush
- Lip Brush

My thoughts: I like the idea of a retractable brush kit, it's nifty for people on the go such as makeup artists, or who like to touch up their makeup throughout the day, especially me, I use a stipling brush with my MAC Careblend Powder and I avoid bringing my large full-size Sigma one because the bristles would eventually get messed up being squished in my makeup bag, the fact that I can have the comfort of having a compact, yet full-size stippling brush with a cap to help protect the bristles is a plus for me. I also like that each brush type is labeled on the handle for easy identification. The bag that the kit comes with is also big enough to hold all the brushes in the kit and then some. The texture on the outside of the bag has a suede like feel to it which gives you a nice good grip.

I also like that the kit has the basic essential brushes one would need to achieve a full-face look as it has a blending and lip brush as well. In terms of the quality of the brushes, I have not used it long enough to really gauge how they perform after a long period of time including the shed factor, but they seem pretty soft, not scratchy or stiff.

I also think that despite the fact this kit is unique, (like i've said before, there's not too many retractable brush kits on the market today that have all the basic brushes); I think $250 is a tad bit pricey for what it is, especially for some people in this economy and the fact that many girls who would be interested in something like this are probably teenagers, or young adults/students who are not inclined to have that kinda cash. There are also so many competitive brush kits out there at half the cost, albeit they are not retractable and may not be of good quality; people might just settle for what they can afford, even if it's cheaper quality. However, it's standard pricing in this industry, for example, MAC's retractable lip brush is $22.50 and Katie B's is $26.50 (if bought separately), but is way more sturdier than MAC's lip brush. Overall, if you've been searching for a unique retractable brush kit, or even just a few retractable brushes, definitely check out her site and these brushes.

PROS:
- Kit comes with a handy case
- Synthetic Brushes
- Retractable brushes are handy, retracts to full-size brushes
- Cap protects bristles and protects them from dirt and bacteria
-  Brush type is labeled on the handle
- Easy to clean, just clean like normal and let it air dry (retracted of course)

CONS:
- A bit pricey for a brush kit, however it's pretty unique

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How I apply blush for a more natural look

Found this old video I did back at my old place, like the Balikbayan box I have in the back? (For my fellow Filipinos, they know what that is! LOL)

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Sonia Kashuk Pointed Foundation Brush

I love Target, it's addicting and easy to go crazy in that place! I also love the Sonia Kashuk line they carry- it's great quality at a great price and I love that her line is always updated with new collections and products. It's no surprise I stumbled across her pointed foundation brush for $12.99.

It definitely piqued my interest because it was pointed, and most of the foundation brushes I see these days are the typical flat sided brushes. And heck, for $12.99, it was mine! I wanted to compare it to the Sephora Airbrush Brushes I recently reviewed. I know everyone is on a budget, so I wanted to find something that can fit both of the Sephora brushes at half the price, and the Sonia Kashuk Pointed Foundation Brush definitely fits the bill.

It has soft synthetic bristles like the Sephora brushes, and the small pointed tip mimics the Sephora Concealer Brush #57 to help you apply your liquid/cream concealer or foundation in hard to reach places such as under the eyes, around the nose, etc. You can see a size comparison below next to a MAC eyeshadow, where it's just the right size, not too big, and not too small.

Overall? I highly recommend it if you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the Sephora brushes, at $12.99 you can't go wrong! It does the job and works great with liquids and creams, and can still give you a nice airbrush finish.

*It's "Kashuk", sorry for the misspelling!

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Fiance's Product Review Video Attempt LOL!

The fiance was just too cute, I was trying to do a video but he ended up stealing the show and wanted to do his own LOL! I love how he doesn't even really talk about the product haha.

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NuMe Style Vintage Flat Iron...that also curls!

I had the wonderful opportunity to review the NuMe Style Vintage (Limited Edition) Flat Iron ($275) from NuMeStyle.com. I love that it's not only hot pink, but it straightens and curls your hair. This flat iron is a little over an inch. It has rounded edges that encompasses the tourmaline ceramic plates, to help give you a nice curl. My old flat iron had a bit of a square edge so it was hard to curl with it.

Years ago, I never would dream to spend over $50 on a hot hair tool, but I can definitely see a difference with certain brands, and sometimes it's just worth the investment of knowing you are not damaging your hair and you have something that will last you a really long time. I had the Conair Wet/Dry flat iron, Revlon Curling Irons, etc. and they never super straightened my hair or give me the long lasting curl I was looking for, and there were times I had curling irons that just broke after awhile. It took my fiance having to get me an Enzo Clipless Curling Iron to realize that with certain things- you get what you paid for. And if you love your hair, you definitely want the best for it.

So I am glad I was able to try this out because finally, I only need to take ONE hair tool when I travel, since it straightens and curls. My sister has to plug in a curling iron AND a hair straightener when she does her hair, and you just need one- this one.

The best part? It comes with a 3 year warranty and my hair was still just as curly even the day after I curled it!

From their website: Using pure ceramic plates ensures even distribution, eliminating the hot spots and chipping associated with conventional irons. Our tourmaline ceramic plates emit negative ions which seals moisture in the hair cuticle keeping your hair shiny, healthy and silky smooth.

- Negative Ion Technology reduces static and frizz for shinier, more manageable hair Rounded Barrels create curls or flips your hair

- Heats up with in seconds

- Built-in converter handles dual voltage from 110v to 240v (you must purchase the country's proper plug adapter separately) Temperature: 410 degrees F

- Ergonomic design is easy to hold, handle and manipulate

PROS:
- It does heat up pretty fast, the red light turns green when it's ready
- The cord swivels at the base, so you don't need to worry about it falling, or getting tangled in things
- The rounded edges helps give you a nice, long-lasting (and shiny!) curl
- It's a little over an inch in barrel size, to give the perfect sized curl, and it's easy to hold
- Can use it when traveling in other countries
- Can use it to flip your hair (like if you have layers), make loose beachy waves, or tighter curls
- Straightens fast and easy
- My curls lasted even the day after I curled it

CONS:
- Does not come with a heat protection glove, pouch or a stand like some hair appliances do
- Can get really hot (like all hair applicances) so be careful
- This particular color is Limited Edition

Overall: This is a pretty good flat iron for me; I hardly do anything with my hair during the week other than straightening it, so I like that this does the job really fast, it straightens my hair in one pass, and I like that I can curl with it too, make flips to my hair, etc. The rounded edges are a major plus, it helps avoid that 'L'-shaped curl and give you nice soft, bouncy curls. You can make beachy waves or round ringlets. I recommend if you straighten and/or curl all the time, and you are looking for a high-end quality flat iron that will last you a very long time. If you wanna see how I used it, and see the kind of curl it made, watch the video below. :)

Disclaimer: All product reviews and honest opinions on this site are solely that of my own and I am not endorsed, affiliated, or paid for this review unless otherwise specified. This product was given for review consideration by www.numestyle.com.

*wearing OCC Lip Tar in "Anime"*

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Sally Hansen "Laced Up" & How-To Tutorial

 

Stephanie requested that I show the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips in "Laced Up", so I thought i'd also do a quick video on how-to apply them as they can be tricky for people who aren't used to nailstrips. I used Seche Vite as my top coat, which I noticed helps it stay on longer. I like that these nailstrips are 'movable' as in if you placed them wrong or it suddenly sticks to your nail, you can still carefully peel them off and start over; as some other brands I have tried (Forever 21's version of nailstrips for example) are a waste of money even though they are only $2.80 for each one I believe, they stuck to my nail and stayed there. If I tried to carefully peel it off to start over it would rip into shreds.

So the Sally Hansen ones are good quality in comparison to other nailstrips out there; I find that the solid colors and some of the designs are great (even the solid colored glitters), while others don't work that well (I hated "Frock Star", it was hard to work with, it felt gritty, and it was a pain to come off!). Anyway, enjoy!

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Ottlite Makeup Mirror

Some of you may have already seen my video on the Ottlite Makeup Mirror, but thought i'd also do a post on it. It's available at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Amazon, JoAnn's Craft Store, as well as a few other places. It's basically a makeup mirror that mimics natural daylight, to give you the most accurate color and lighting when applying your makeup. Tungsten (yellowish light) gives a wash of yellow to everything, so your perception of foundation color for example could be a few shades off. With the Ottlite, what you see, is what you get! The con is that it shows every detail, pores and all LOL.

It retails for $99.99 in some places but $69.99 on the Ottlite website, and I got it on the clearance rack at JoAnn's for $29! Such a frikkin' steal! LOL. JoAnn's has it on sale online for like $54-60, and even with a 40% coupon, it's still pricey, so if you are interested, definitely check out your local JoAnn's to see if there are any on clearance. It has one button which is the on and off switch (no dimmer), the mirror swivels, so you have a magnified version and a standard mirror. The base/stand reclines back and forward so you can achieve your desired level.

It also comes in different colors, such as pink, white, black, and teal with brown.

PROS: Nice, bright light, really gives you accurate representation of color so you never look weird
CONS: It can be TOO bright, no dimmer. For the retail price, the mirror part itself seems cheap, it has a cheap looking fake metal looking plastic on the border of the mirror, I would just expect more if I had to pay full price for this. Price itself is a bit much imo.

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Sigma MAXBag in Violet (& Giveaway)

Happy Easter everyone! I recently received the Sigma MAXBag in Violet ($29, www.sigmabeauty.com), and this baby is not your normal makeup bag- it's HUGE! I love it! It comes in 2 other colors: Black and a light blue. My baby sister is graduating Junior High in June, and I will be flying up for the event, so when I travel- I always have the intention of packing light, and never do....but this bag eliminates me having to carry more than I need. Especially if I am at the airport, I hate bringing a makeup box because it's bulky and just causes a headache at the security point, so this bag is just a nice simple carry-on, in addition to my purse.

It is very spacious and it fits a lot of large items you can't normally fit in a regular makeup bag/box, I was able to fit my Sigma Make Me Up Brush Kit, a large eyeshadow palette, my Z Palette, my NuMe Flat Iron, and my hairbrush, and still had some room left for other things. It has a silky quilted pattern on the outside, (but be careful with this material, it tends to scratch or run easily if it gets snagged with something sharp, and can stain easily too), it has a handle on the side of the bag, and has a Sigma heart logo on the lower corner, it zips up top and has two separate compartments inside of the bag, and a zippered compartment on the other.

GIVEAWAY!!!  Want a chance to win a Sigma MAXBag? Sigma Beauty is kind enough to give away 3 of my readers a MAXBag in the color of their choice, no need to enter as I will randomly pick 3 winners who follow me on Twitter and/or has liked the Facebook page. (I want to avoid people having to put their emails down to enter due to spam.) Winner will be announced on Wednesday April 27th and winner will be contacted for the color of their choice and address to ship to. Winning item will be shipped from SigmaBeauty.com. Must be at least 18 years old to enter. US and International participants welcomed.

Disclaimer: All product reviews and honest opinions on this site are solely that of my own and I am not endorsed, affiliated, or paid for this review unless otherwise specified. These products were given for review consideration by www.sigmabeauty.com.
 

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[Storage]- Ring Organizer Tray from Michaels

Since I have been on a storage kick, I thought id also share this nifty ring organizer tray I found at Michaels craft store for $7.99, but Michaels always has 40% off coupons, etc so you can even nab it at a cheaper price. I love accessories, so I have an eclectic mix of rings, necklaces, and bracelets; and I used to just store all my rings in one big drawer and found it hard to find a certain ring sometimes since they were all pretty much just jumbled together. So I thought id get one of these ring trays to keep things more organized and make it easier to choose a ring to wear.

It's the same type of display trays you see at flea markets, or stores, has velvet cushioned rows that snugly hold onto your rings. The only con about this tray is that if you have larger banded rings, they will not fit, so you would have to store them separately. But I like that it stores a majority of my rings, at least the ones I usually wear the most.

They also have display holders for bracelets and necklaces too at Michaels.

This is how I used to store my rings, sorta just dumped it in a drawer:

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Z Palette & Devucosmetics.com

 Comes in black, pink, leopard, and zebra print, and in two sizes (small/large)

Tina from Devucosmetics.com is so amazing! She responds to emails right away and answers any questions you may have; AND she was nice enough to give my readers 15% OFF your entire purchase! USE CODE: NESS15. They also ship internationally! I was honored when she asked if I would review some of her products because I was actually looking to buy a Z Palette. I have seen these palettes at every IMATS show and never bothered to get one, but I have TONS of MAC palettes, and it's a pain traveling with all those palettes or even trying to choose between certain ones; and the Z Palette eliminates some of that fuss.

For those of you who may not have not heard about Z Palette 's ($20), it's basically a customizable palette that's completely flat with a magnetic bottom (no pre-designed pots or worrying about pan sizes). If you have any pan refills that have a magnetic backing, such as MAC blushes, eyeshadows, etc. (it can be used with other brands as well), it can hold your pans so you have only what you want or need. It has a clear see-thru lid so you can easily see what's in your palette, no need for labeling...it's made of what feels like a really sturdy cardboard, but I am sure in time it will be subject to wear and tear and may start to get flimsy, or even the clear lid might start to get raggedy, but it's definitely strong enough to last you a long time.

Even if you have things you want to depot that DON'T have a magnetic backing, you can easily find magnetic dots or squares at any craft store and glue them to the back of the pan so that they can stick to the Z Palette. [Watch my video below to see a demo of the Z Palette in action].

Comparisons? In comparison to the MAC Palettes, they are not that much bigger (watch video to see them side by side), I like that these are bigger than the Unii palettes, and cheaper ($20 vs. $29/$30), even though I think the Unii palettes are really sturdy, well made, and innovative- they are just way too tiny for me. If they had them in a bigger size, I would love them!  If I ever decide to get one, one of these days, I will compare them for you guys.

I also got a couple of fabulous lashes (which I already used in a FOTD, i'll post soon!) and a few brushes; the brushes are super soft, not scratchy or harsh, and I like that the ferrules and handles are all black- they look so sleek and professional!

Disclaimer: All product reviews and honest opinions on this site are solely that of my own and I am not endorsed, affiliated, or paid for this review unless otherwise specified. These products were given for review consideration by www.devucosmetics.com.

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Review: Geo Tricolored Contacts in Brown

Hola mi amigas! Hope you all had a great weekend! I was busy looking at a few venues with my grandparents this weekend (since my parents are in WA.), it was fun hanging out with them since my grandparents are just too cute. Anyway, I recently bought Geo Tri Colored Contact lenses in Brown from dbeautyshop.com, and thought id do a quick video and a post on them so you can see how they look.

They are pretty comfortable to wear, they recommend that you do not wear it longer than 8 hours, so just keep that in mind. These particular colored contacts were $19.90 on their website and shipping was relatively fast (ships from Malaysia I believe), and their shipping was only $5. I ordered it October 22, and received it a few days after Halloween, so not too shabby. Each lens was in a tightly sealed glass vial and came with a contact lens case. I got them with 0.00 power (no power), and they come in a variety of other colors such as grey, violet, blue, and green.

I also did a quick video wearing them just so you can kinda get a feel of how they look like in person, although I have a ton of bright lights in my room so it may look lighter in the video, but they look very natural in person, as you can see from the pic below where I have one contact in and the other is my natural eye, they aren't too fake looking, so if you are looking for something soft and natural these are a nice pick. They are 'tri-color' meaning they have various shades of brown sorta meshed together to complement your natural brown eye color, rather than one simple shade like other colored contacts. (Think gradient effect!)

BTW, I give props to those of you that do YouTube videos, so much time is needed to do these videos and uploading/editing, etc. takes major guts too lol. I feel like such a dork when I do videos, I hate the way I sound, so different from what I hear in my head, haha. But sometimes it's better to convey certain things via video than just pics no? Anyway, enjoy! Time to have some Korean BBQ with my bestie and my fiance!

What I got in the mail:

 

 

 Colored contact in one eye, natural eye color on the other:

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Video: Kevin B. from MUFE

Here is a video from the Makeup Show in LA where Kevin Bennett from Make Up For Ever talks about the different shades of their HD Foundation.

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Video & Pink and Purple FOTD

Jess requested a tutorial on how I apply my blush for a more natural and softer look, so I did a quick video on it since it's probably easier to get my point across instead of pictures. ***For reference, I am not a fan of doing videos, I get too nervous and end up sounding like a complete putz, LOL. So be easy on me haha. And yes that is an Island Pacific box behind me that my grandma gave me to help me pack some stuff (as the BF and I are preparing to get our own digs so im starting to pack up the junk I am not using now). It's just hilarious it's there in the background, gotta love grandma. :)

I will be posting all my videos on Vimeo from now on simply because the quality of the video is phenomenal, and there are zero haters on Vimeo which I love. It's $60 bucks a year for the premium service which is well worth it to me if that means cutting out the immature people and the many content-stealing on YouTube and having awesome quality videos. I may still add it also on YouTube for my subscribers, but for now I will be posting on Vimeo solely.

Also, for those of you who asked about the Cosme Land store, it looks like it is Ohayo minus most of the houseware stuff, so it's mostly and mainly beauty products that were in Ohayo, including the beloved Mandom makeup remover! :)

Here are a few "work-friendly" pics to illustrate the tutorial, I also used the stippling brush from PurelyCosmetics.com:






And this is just another pink & purple FOTD, I have done a very similar look before but I made it more vibrant by using MakeUp For Ever's bright pink eyeshadow #9 and MAC lipstick in "Lavender Whip".











What I used:

[Face]
- Purely Cosmetics Oil Absorb Powder & Silk Primer Powder (review coming soon!)
- MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NC30
- Purely Cosmetics Mineral Foundation in "Olive Beige"

[Cheeks}
- NYX Blush in "Pinky"

[Eyes]
- MAC paint pot in "Girl Friendly" as base
- MAC e/s in "Romping"(on top of PP)
- MUFE e/s #9 (over romping)
- MAC e/s in "Nocturnelle" and "Satellite Dreams" on outer-V and contour
- MAC e/s in "Shadowy Lady" on outer-v
- MAC e/s in "Ricepaper" as highlight
- MAC Fluidline in "Blacktrack"
- Ardell falsies (forgot the #)
- L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara
- Urban Decay eye pencil in "Lust" on lower lashline

[Lips]
- MAC l/s in "Lavender Whip"
- MAC Dazzleglass in "Funtabulous"

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