Wedge Heels and Hot Pants

Since this blog is also about style, I thought id include some of my recent buys. My favorite pair of black washed jeans ripped (I had it for YEARS), and was so upset as I looked EVERYWHERE and couldn't find anything remotely close to it- TILL YESTERDAY. There it was, just staring at me, I tried it on and I swear I felt like Cinderella, it was a PERFECT fit. Best part? They were only $30 at Aeropostale.


I also bought some wedge heels to add to my wedge collection, which went perfectly with leggings.




I bought a cropped sweater with a hood also (not pictured), and a brown floating heart necklace which I also got in silver.


And lastly, makeup related, EYES: I used Milani eyeshadow in "Shock" and "Storm". For the highlight, I used MAC eyeshadow in Vex and Stila eyeshadow in Chinois. Mascara is Loreal's Double Extended in Carbon.FACE: Rimmel's Luminizer in "Keep it Real" and Everyday Minerals in "Light Winged Butter" (Matte). BLUSH: Revlon's Powdered Blush in "Blushed". LIPS: Sephora Lip Liner #206 and MAX Factor's Lipgloss in "Stood Him Up".

I put the purple on top of my lid as an outline and the inside corners only.






I also bought some new brushes since the ones I have needed to be replaced. I got a retractable brush for my mineral foundation when I am on the go, a blush brush, and a small detailed eyeshadow brush for small areas.


The brush- retracted.


I also got some more NYX Loose Powdered Eyeshadows in Brown and Green.

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How to take a good photo.

I had some inquiries on my photos that i've taken of my makeup and some of you asked what camera I use, lighting, if I use any equipment, etc to obtain such high-quality photos especially showing the detail of things.

First of all, the camera I use for MOST of my photos is my purse camera which is the CANON SD 450. It's 5 megapixels, shoots 60 frames per second, 2.5 inch LCD display, and has video. Of course most of the time I take photos of my makeup looks in my room, as for lighting I use mostly flash so that you all can see the detail of the makeup, and other times its natural light, or incandescent lighting (such as the bathroom!). I have my camera on AUTO, but put the options dial to the MACRO setting which is symbolized by a FLOWER, this setting allows you to take close-ups of objects and also doesn't let the flash bounce off so much off the object producing an over exposed picture.

RARELY I use my Nikon D40x for my photos because its big and bulky to take pics of my makeup myself, but that is another camera I own to take some of the photos featuring the actual makeup I used for a specific look, etc.

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Moisturizing Mist Sprays

Q: hey nessa! i have a question. so i was wondering if you could recommend a cheap and effective hydrating/moisturizing mist spray? i've purchased the burt's bee's one but i'm wondering if you have any recommendations.

i'm planning on using this with my mineral makeup but i need something cheaper but just as effective.
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A: (1)I highly recommend the hydrating mist by Decleor. It's around $15-$20. You can CLICK HERE to see the cheapest one I found. Fresh Hydrating Mist offers all the pleasure of a gentle and delicate moisturizing mist and releases a gorgeous floral scent. This mist moisturizes, refreshes, and de-stresses the skin. It sets and mattifies make-up. Your skin is replenished and soothed and you feel a delightful sensation of comforting freshness. Spray over the face after cleansing or any time of the day. I used this one time at a photoshoot and worked great!


(2)For people with SENSITIVE SKIN, I like Paula's Choice Silk Mist Moisturizing Body Spray (can also be used on the face). It's $14.95 for the 4oz. bottle or you can even get a SAMPLE SIZE for $.0.80 cents here: silk spray.
This imperceptibly light hydrating mist contains skin-conditioning plant oils, several antioxidants (including natural vanilla, which provides a pleasant, light scent), skin-silkening silicone, and anti-irritants that help dry skin feel unbelievably soft. THEY ALSO HAVE OTHER COOL STUFF ON THIS SITE.

# Absorbs quickly into dry or slightly damp skin
# Ideal for all skin types, especially sensitive skin
# Colorant-free


(3)The CHEAPEST ONE is at Sephora, from the same line of the makeup base, it's their Flash Spray for $12, has kiwi and citrus extracts, very vitamin-rich, perfect for a quick pick me up and leaves skin incredibly soft. Can also be used OVER makeup to help it set.


(4)For people who tan, or are always out in the sun and have some damaged skin, I liked ModelCo skin airbrush spray. It is loaded with vitamins an skin soothing aloes to help hydrate dry skin and keep it hydrates. It has a 360 degree nozzle to get to all areas of the face and body. ($30)


(5)HydrAction Deep Hydration Moisturizing Spray from Dior also sets makeup to last al day! ($30 at Sephora)


(6)Or some people just want the refreshing and classic EVIAN water spray which has a lot of minerals, and the best part, it's natural! Great for after exercising to help get the sweat off of you!

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Breaking News! Makeup.com 50% OFF!

If you don’t already know about MakeUp.com, then you are MISSING OUT!! Especially right now - they are having a 50% off sale on all classic brands (includes Benefit, Lancome, MAC, Urban Decay, etc.!) right now, until supplies last. Use code SAVE50 during check out to save 50% on your entire order of classic brands.

FREE SAMPLES with every order. No hassle returns. FREE shipping on orders over $40!

And for my lovely friend Miss Christiana, they have some great brushes at a great deal (inc. the fan brushes) on: www.coastalscents.com and www.choicebrushes.com, eBay is also another good place to get brushes.

EDIT: Great new mineral site I found!! http://www.jenulence.com

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Fan Brush Arrived!

Note for Miss Marie: Yeah the MAC palettes are awesome! It's the depotting part that just blows...lol. The Milani eyeshadows are actually pretty awesome, I love the way they come on and they are well pigmented for being a drugstore brand, another drugstore brand I like is the Isadora brand, usually at Walgreens. I AGREE, Wal-Mart has some awesome brushes, my foundation brushes are from there and they have lasted me such a long time, the only thing I hate about drugstore blush brushes or brushes with a lot of bristles, is that of course they tend to shed. As for the makeup stacks, I got them from www.coastalscents.com, and YES, I do love mineral makeup now, despite the numerous amount of mineral makeup sites, hands down I am going with EVERYDAY MINERALS simply because I just love their guarantee, their samples, and just everything about it! So far I like 3 shades I don't remember them too well at the moment, but I think it's light olive, natural beige intensive, and natural tan I believe??? I am going to be ordering the full sizes soon...

I finally got my fan brush today after what seemed to be a week of waiting...it's HUGE compared to what I imagined it to be, I guess it helps if I actually read the dimensions of things BEFORE I order them, haha, oh well I actually like it because it's big enough to sweep all the fallen eyeshadow on my cheeks during application, yet small and angled enough to get into small spaces like the sides of my nose and under my eye. I'll probably end up using it to clean the dust of my keyboard... TOTALLY KIDDING! haha

As you can see, it's almost the size of my head:




I also bought MUFE (Makeup Forever) eyeshadow in #143, and it's just such a gorgeous color, I can't really describe it, it's like a silver gray muted purple with an irridescent shimmer that's matte and not shiny or sparkly....get it? HAHA. It's beautiful though, I must say, I am really, REALLY liking MUFE products because their pigmentation is superb, im talking 5 stars! I went around Sephora today and absolutely no other brand (well NARS comes second), that is pigmented to perfection the way MUFE eyeshadows are. I like it because you honestly don't need to cake layers on to get the right amount of color you want, one or two swipes should do it! Basically, the color you see, is definitely the color you get, and I guess $18 isn't sooooo bad compared to MAC, which is $14, yet the pigmentation is such a huge difference, which goes back to why I think MAC isn't ALL THAT, because they lack the quality of NARS and MUFE. I would rather pay $4 more to get awesome colors, but dang $18 for ONE eyeshadow.....yikes!

I also love the NARS eyeshadows, there's just something about them I am in awe of....I am just not ready to shell out $21 for it. :(

I want to start going "out" of the box and start applying makeup on people just to gauge different ethnicities, skin tones, skin textures, etc. and just see if I can do it, to be honest, I AM SCARED to do makeup on people. I always think that they won't like it, they end up hating it and hating me lol. I am just so used to doing makeup on myself, only I know the temper of my skin, my imperfections, my depth of my overall lid capacity from lash line to eyebrow, and yada yada yada. I think i'll practice on my sister again when I see her next month.....haha

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My Bible and Starry Eyes

So today I wore silver, and wanted to take it all the way, so I tried starry eyes, I used a bunch of silver colored eyeshadows, white eyeshadow, and NYX Loose Powder in Silver.







And this is my BEAUTY BIBLE, a lot of people ask me where I learn certain things, and to be honest, I LEARNED SOLELY ON MY OWN simply just by experimenting with colors, blends, looks, just be creative with it! I bought this book on Friday from Barnes & Nobles and has A LOT of great tips ranging from picking the perfect foundation, to eyebrows, to hair, to different eye shapes, and more!









And my new watch!

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C-Shock

C-Shock is the newest collection by MAC, consisting of a lot of BRIGHT summer colors (which of course fits my personality), so you can guess that I love this collection and will be making a few purchases!

I LOVE this look on EVE, it is Electric EEL and Bang on Blue:


I also bought some stack containers for my NYX Loose Powder Eyeshadow, since they are super tiny and have a very narrow neck, it can get messy during application, so I'll be placing each color in its container and then stack em up for travel!


*Also, they are awesome wet! I tried a wet application of these powder eyeshadows and they come out so bright and creamy, and lasts long!

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Bronze Eyes and Depotting

I got 5 Milani eyeshadows today: Shock, Antique Gold, Atlantis, Garden Mist, and Storm.

I placed them in the ELF magnetic pots after I "depotted" them:









Here is the little tutorial on "bronze eyes", I think it's simple, easy, and natural enough for everyday wear, great if you are wearing taupes, tans, and browns:

I used Milani Quad "Earthy Delights":


I then applied it on my eyes and blended it, with Sephora's gold glitter eyeshadow:


So it looks like this:


Then I applied Sephora's cream eyeliner using of course an eyeliner brush:




I then applied the BRONZE cream eyeliner to my LOWER lashes with a Q-tip:










Finished Product:


I bought NYX Eyeshadow in Chick:


And also an ENTIRE NYX Cosmetic Section at LONGS DRUGS (for those of you who are having trouble finding NYX Cosmetics, they have a wide array at Longs)

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New find.

I found: https://www.sachacosmetics.com/

Pretty cool site for makeup artists. I bought the MAC Pro Makeup Palette to fit in 15 eyeshadows or blushes.



EDIT: To depot eyeshadows so you can place them in th pallette, see this visual tutorial on how to do it, CLICK HERE

Also, a lot of people seem to have trouble finding Milani Cosmetics (they have awesome eyeshadows), try CVS Pharmacy or order them online here: http://www.bestbeautyonline.com/milani.asp.

CVS had a Milani Eyeshadow Sale, where they were ALL 50% off, so I bought Antique Gold, Atlantis, and Shock. Of course I will soon be depotting these so that they can fit in my MAC makeup palette!

I have another tutorial coming up as well!

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