So today's makeup started out more neutral and then turned into a Lavender look completely. I guess that is neutral for me though, color. Haha.

Eyes:

MUG: Twilight, Corrupt, Peach Smoothie, Wisteria

Kiss Lashes in Chic

ABH: Dip Brow in Medium Brown

Face:

NARS All Day Foundation 

Tarte Sculptor in 1

MAC Modern Mandarin blush

ABH Contour kit (I also used the matte highlight shade to set and buff the skin. The technique I talked about in the last post)

Lips:

Colour Pop: Brills

Smashbox Pout lipgloss

Now, if you're only interested in the makeup then you may want to skip this part.

 I wanted to give you my thoughts on some things. I've been seeing a lot of negativity toward artists and people in general lately on social media. Some has happened to me personally but also I've seen some really rude comments toward peoples appearance that they can't change. I know that there isn't much I can do about it but I wanted to leave you with this thought tonight. How would you feel if you put yourself out there doing something that you love and then someone came in and tried to tear you down? I know it's old, but "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". I'm not saying I've not ever been guilty of saying something that wasn't nice because I certainly have. I do not, however, understand going out of your way to attack someone you don't know or anyone for that matter. Especially when someone is trying to put their work out there. I'm not talking about taking a stand on something you have a personal problem with. You can support someone or not support someone for your own reasons. There's no need to be nasty and catty though and absolutely no room to make fun of people. In a time where everyone is so against bullying, it amazes me just how many "bullies" have seemed to come out of the wood work. Also, if you're someone who feels the need to comment even though you have nothing to do with the situation, picture, or whatever be thoughtful on how you word things. I don't mind criticism but "making fun" and being disrespectful is something that I will not support or tolerate. We should try to uplift people, not cause them doubt and sadness. If I see something that isn't my style I don't trash someone, I try to look at it from an artists view because nine times out of ten its executed great. Even if it's not, we all have a starting point and we all get better each day. So encourage don't discourage. I've only had small issues, but the past two days I've seen some really horrible almost make you cry comments toward amazing people. And no I don't personally know all these people that were the victim of the harsh insults, but that makes no difference to me. We were all created equal and there is nothing that gives us the right to be downright awful to someone else for how they look or how their work is just because you don't like it. We all put our pants on one leg at a time. So lets keep the air negative free and enjoy this life that we were blessed with. Do not judge, because you don't know the road someone else walks.

Hugs,
Erin

So this is actually today's look and I wanted to talk about it because there is several things in this that I'm loving. The first being these lashes, they're super dramatic in real life but they are so nice in pictures. They're Koko Lashes in Foxy. I got these off of Violet Voss, They are inexpensive and incredible. I've used them before I know but each time I use them and take my pictures I just fall more in love. 

Second, I did a new contour technique today as far as where I placed it on my face and I really really love it. I believe it's the perfect way to contour for my face and preferences. Which obviously everyone is different but I'm just so happy that I found a way that I love from the beginning without having to tweak it a million times and then just settle with it. I used the Cover FX Cream Contour Kit in N Medium, if you've read my review on it you'll know that it's not my favorite as far as color goes but I set it with ABH Fawn and it helps cancel out the warm tones. Also I paired it with Becca Songbird blush and it's a darker coral blush so it really helped pull the contour together as well. 

Last is I want to touch on the skin and how it looks because I tried a new tip that I seen in Wayne Goss latest video, "How To Look Flawless in Photos and Real Life" which was a "buffing" technique he learned from a Sonia and Fyza seminar. I won't try to explain how to do the technique you should really watch the video because I'm not comfortable with it yet. I'll hit the high notes for you though, when you're done with your makeup and you've set it as you would when you're completely finished with blush, contour, and everything, you then take a buffing brush and a powder and buff the powder into the skin. Now my biggest concern was that I didn't want to buff away the intensity of my blush. I wasn't worried about the contour or moving the foundation or concealer I just wanted my blush to be deep and intense. So I used a coastal scents buffing brush that was rounded although Im not sure if it matters the shape, and I used Hourglass Ambient Powder in Diffused Light. I didn't know how much to buff or how much product to use so I just was winging it. It did take the intensity of my blush down somewhat but even with me not really sure if I was doing this technique right it literally did transform my skin. Not really the makeup which I know it probably did but it looked like it transformed my skin. That was just with me looking in the mirror. When I took my photos for this makeup I was amazed at how smooth my skin looked and photoshoppped I looked with out doing any editing to the picture. You already know my thoughts on editing and that sometimes I do edit the texture issues off my skin, but I rarely ,if ever, put filters on my pictures and this, to me, looked like I did. There was one area in the corner of my eye that had some real dry areas that didn't look amazing but other than that this was a fantastic first try. So, go watch it if you're interested in techniques and tips to try. I love Goss so much he's taught me an unbelievable amount through the years and I absolutely love that he still goes to seminars and watches other makeup artists so that he can learn their techniques as well. I truly think that that's so outstanding because we all can learn from one another and I think sometimes people can get to where they think they know everything and that's a mistake. You limit yourself so much when you refuse to give others a second look or acknowledge their talent. There's always something that someone can teach you about anything and everything, not just makeup. 

Now on to the look:

Eyes:

Makeup Geek: Shark Bait and Corrupt
Vegas Lights pigment
Immortal gel liner

ABH: Red Earth and Bengal
Dip Brow

Violet Voss glitter in Rosalind

Koko Lashes in Foxy


Face


Diorskin Star Foundation


Becca Undereye Brightener
Opal Highlighter
Song Bird blush


Cover FX cream contour kit


ABH powder contour kit


Hourglass Ambient powder in Diffused Light


Lips:


Colour Pop: Brink

Happy Spring! I kicked off the new season with something very colorful. I was more inspired by the colors I had got from Makeup Geek than the season itsself.

Eyes:

MUG: Wisteria, Pixie Dust, Corrupt, Mango Tango, and Shark Bait (lower lashline)

Lena Lashes in Bianca

ABH Dip Brow (my brows weren't jiving with me that day)

Face:

NARs All Day Luminous Foundation in Gobi

Tarte Sculptor in 1

ABH Contour Kit

NARs Blush in Fervor

Lips:

Colour Pop Rocket

Swatches from left to right are Twilight, Wisteria (2015 remake), Shark Bait and Pixie Dust.

Wisteria and Shark Bait are matte but so buttery and soft. Wisteria is very pretty light-medium purple with pink tints to it. Shark Bait is a really beautiful intense teal. It's not too dark but it's not crazy bright like a lighter version of teal would be. This is just the perfect shade and its not Navy/Blue looking like you can often mistake teal for when it's in a darker shadow this has the perfect amount of green in it so you always know it's not just a blue shadow.

Twilight and Pixie Dust are frosted I would say. Twilight might be just satin finish but it seems frosted to me although you Pixie Dust is way more frosted. Twilight is also very very similar to Prom Night and had I known that I probably wouldn't have got it which out of the two I would choose Twilight over Prom Night. It's way more lilac but still taupe where Prom Night is more silver. Pixie Dust is like a yellow green. Very bright but has a lot of yellow in it. It's very unique and cool.

These are something's I got last month. Not all at the same time mind you. Several of the things were freebies and a few of the things are going to be for my kit.

So here's a run down of what I got:

Cover FX Cream Contour kit (blog post is up)

Lioele BB Cream

MAC Pro Longwear concealer in NC20

NYX dark circle corrector (check blog post of under eye circles)

NYX high coverage concealer in Yellow

Tarte Sculptor in 1

Kat Von Immortal Lash

Benefit Porefessional Blot On the Go

Kryolan Dermacolor Mini Camoflage palette

NARS Dual Intenstity Blusg in Fervor (blog post)

RCMA Vincent Kehoe #11 (blog post)

LA Splash Smitten Liptints in Enchanted and Hypnotized (blog post)

Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer

Beauty Blender Pro

Becca Undereye Brightening Corrector (blog is up)

Peter Thomas Roth Retexturizer Rxfoliating Scrub

Lionel BB Cream. I got this off Amazon for about $15 or so? Anyway I seen this girl use it who had very problematic skin and I really wanted to try it for my clients that may need the extra coverage. This is made in Korea and it has no English on it anywhere lol. So can't tell you what's in it or anything. I do like it and it does have cover but I feel like it makes my skin a little oily. I have dry skin for the most part but this seemed to make it really more oily than I care for. I still like it I just don't go overboard with it.

Kryolan Dermacolor Mini Camoflage Palette. It's full coverage concealer that is supposed to cover tattoos and anything you don't want to show. It's super dry but it does cover really well. I may add some beauty oil to it to make it a little easier to work with. I got mine from Frends.

NYX concealer in yellow. I got mine for highlighting purposes and canceling out redness. It's full coverage and inexpensive. It's a wonderful pale yellow which I find a relief because some yellow tones can be too dark. I ordered this from Amazon too but it was only $6 I believe.

This mascara was a point perk from Sephora and I really like it. Which is huge for me to say that cause I never like mascaras cause my lashes are so dismal. This is a thicker formula not thing and runny. It's also not glossy it's more matte. The brush is odd and I don't know what it's supposed to accomplish but I can tell you this mascara makes my lashes seem thicker. Not longer really but thicker and it costs them very very well. I'm a fan.

This was a promo from Sephora. It's a contour stick. I didn't think I would like it but I really really do. Better than the Cover FX. The color is the lightest one but its neutral based. It's kinda bronzey but not orangey and I can't stand that. It's really similar to Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer which is neutral based. It comes in 2 other darker colors. Id love to try the darkest color. It blends well but doesn't blend into nothing it stays where you place it. It's $24 for a full size at Sephora.

I repurchased this and thought I got the color I had before which was NW20 buttttt I didn't. However, it was a happy accident because this is more yellow. It's darker but it's yellow and I really like it. Probably will get NW20 though soon because t works best when I'm pale. It's $20 from MAC.

I got another Beauty Blender for my kit. I got it in black so it wouldn't stain as easily as pink.

The Porefessional blog to go is odd but it does work. It's stick form so I just dab it on the areas that are shiny and it does instantly mattify it. It's not something that I need nor would I purchase it cause it just isn't my thing. However it's a good product and for those who really need or want oil control or need to absorb oil on the go and don't want to use an oil sheet it's a good product.

The Too Faced eyeshadow primer is a really really good eye primer although I don't need it as much now that I have the MAC Pro Longwear concealer because that acts as a primer with its anti crease formula. This is very very good though and will last a long time.

The Peter Thomas Roth scrub is from the Resurfacer collection. I got mine off Amazon and the seller is Peter Thomas Roth. It was $25 and in Sephora it was like almost $50. So be sure to check out Amazon before you order it off Sephora. I seen where the serum from that line was $40 on Amazon and it's $75 on Sephora. Anyway, this is supposed to smooth and get rid of texture issues as well as uneven skin tone and sun damage. I needed it for texture issues. It's supposed to stay on for 2-7 minutes depending on skins sensitivity. I didn't think it tingled at all and although my skin seemed smoother some I prefer the Peter Thomas Roth Peel Gel Exfoliator I think it works better.

The rest of the items are in blog posts of there own with swatches and details. So be sure to check them out.

I recently got the Cover FX Contour Kit in N Medium. I'm actually very fair right now but seeing as how summer is coming i new I could get away with the medium if I'm fair and even better if I'm tan. The highlighting shades weren't the issue anyway, I like my contour to be darker and more dramatic. I feel like if I want something subtle I'll use a bronzer and not bother with cream contour because with cream contour you need to set it with contour powders so if I'm going to put in the extra work then I want to have an awesome contour going on. That's just me though.

As for how I really feel about the product: it's a really awesome formula and really great size, you get a lot for the cost. However, Im not the biggest fan of "warm" contours that make you're face just look bronzey and what not. I prefer cooler tones.

So I love the formula, they blend like a dream, but even with going a shade darker in tone I still came out with the bronzey tan look instead of contoured. I don't want anything crazy like hard lines and stuff but this was soooo warm that literally it looked like I had been to the beach. Which is totally awesome for those who like I said want something natural and subtle but it's just not my favorite. It's great quality though and great formula, it has lots of different options for pink, neutral, and golden undertones. All of those though seem to be very warm in the contour area.

The highlighter on this was more silvery to me but I liked it and it had color to it which I also liked. It wasn't some sheer sparkle it reminded me so much of Becca Opal highlighter. The matte highlighter was still light enough even with me getting the medium to highlight my face especially when I did contour.

I used the Beauty Blender with it and it worked great. To balance it out I set it with a cool toned contour powder like Fawn from Anastasia and it did help but like I said it just wasn't the color I was looking for.

These are $48 on Sephora or Cover FX if you have a pro membership with Cover FX you can use it on this also.

So you know when you find that product and you're like "where have you been all my life?" Well that happened today with the Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector.

First this is a lot to talk about cause there's two ways to use it. You can use it under concealer as a corrector for dark circles to brighten the area or "back light" meaning that light will shine off it and illuminate the area making it seem like there's not darkness under there. It's more subtle that way. Or you can use it over your concealer routine to bright the area up and blend down to where you just look illuminated and bounce light off the darkness of the area.

I actually used mine overtop of my NYX peach corrector because this is more of a pink peach and the nyx is more of a dark peach and that's what actually works best for my dark circles. If you don't have bad circles you could absolutely use this on its own no problem. I just happen to have really noticeable ones. So in the photo above all your seeing is a little of NYX corrector and Becca corrector over top. I literally didn't really need concealer over it like most Correctors when it was all said and done. I did apply concealer though just to see how the "backlighting" actually worked in the pictures below.

So first picture one eye is corrected sans concealer and one eye isnt. The next picture (top right), is just my NYX corrector. It's a dark peach and cancels out my circles the best. It has no illumination to it at all. Bottom left picture, Becca corrector is applied over top of NYX this is going to be the ESSENTIAL step in concealing my circles for the rest of my life. Correcting is needful but illuminating the area and then concealing it is the order that Im gonna use from this point forward. Like I said correcting is what cancels out the purple and blue but then adding this brightening corrector is what bounces the light off and "takes away the darkness" more or less. Bottom right, is foundation and my MAC Pro Longwear concealer in NC20. I really would've been fine with putting on my foundation and just setting the Undereye as it was without the concealer but the setting powdet has illumination to it as well so I didn't want to go overboard and plus I really wanted to see the whole "backlighting" technique.

For those who keep up with my under eye circle routine you know I love Origins Ginzing eye cream cause it has some brightening to it. This is 10x stronger than that. It's insane. I would be fine with just regular moisturizer now that I have the Becca corrector.

As far as the product goes in terms of formula it's super creamy more creamy than my NYX corrector and just as creamy as Eve Pearl Correctors. It's very smooth and really sticks to the skin once it's on. So it doesn't get too thin and sheer cause it's so creamy it keeps its coverage. High shine, obviously. It's more pink than peach but it will work to correct for those of you who don't need as much correction as I do.

This is y makeup all finished. Really can't tell you enough how much of a game changer this product is. It's $29 at Sephora.com and they also have concealer to go with it but I used what I had and it worked fine.

Happy St Patrick's Day!! Hope everyone is enjoying being green today. It's been really warm the past few days here in Tennessee so it makes things extra fun. I'm giving you two lip options in this a neutral and a bright option I personally chose the bright option (naturally) but the neutral look is fine too!

Eyes:

MUG: Envy, Chickadee, Peach Smoothie, Corrupt

Sugarpill: Lumi pigment (inner corner kid and inner corner highlight)

Colour Pop: Fizz (center and lower lash line)

MUG: Immortal gel liner

Red Cherry Lashes in 213

ABH Dip Brow in Medium Brown

Face:

Lioele bb cream

Givenchy Photo Perfexion foundation

CoverFX contour kit (review coming soon)

NARS Dual Intensity Blush in Fervor

ABH Powder Contour kit to set

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC20

Lips:

Neutral option ABH Pure Hollywood

Bright Option LA Splash Smitten Liptint in Hypnotized

This week my stand out product is GlamGlow Thirsty Mud Treatment. I've not wore a lot of makeup this past week and plus my skin has been ridiculously dry and just terrible texture issues. So to put the moisture back in I've been using this sometimes everyday so my skin will get back to normal. It's helped tremendously and it smells great. I have just a baby squeeze tube of this but Sephora offers two sizes in it. The big one for around $60-$70 and a smaller jar that's only $19. The tube I have is smaller than that and I'm still not anywhere near done with it so definitely lasts a long time and a little goes a long long way. So be looking for another Haul post soon and more reviews coming up. Trying to stay busy, busy, busy.

Have a good week.

So since I'm still feeling pretty horrible, I'm gonna do some more reviews. I ordered this when I first seen them pop up on Instagram I believe. I love NARS in general and their blushes in particularly but just here lately as in like the last year they've really been churning out some quality products. The new "High Intensity" products they have out like the blushes and single shadows are just flat out gorgeous. 

The shade I got was Fervor. There are 6 colors total. What I love about the idea of these is that they're A) have such an intense glow to them, B). depending on what color you get you could have a highlighter and a blush, and C) while dry theyre just "glowy" and not so in your face, applied wet they get darker and really reach their full impact. I have a feeling that these will be HUGE this summer. In summer I myself tend to go with darker blushes that have a sheen to them like: Benefit Coralista, Makeup Geek Romance, Becca Songbird, so on so forth. I also love not totally darker but definitely brighter blushes too like BH Cosmetics Tulip or Milani Bella Rosa baked blush. So this color option was perfect in my opinion. It has a super light option or a dark option cause I won't lie the dark one scared me some. I applied it today dry and honestly with each side it was a soft and subtle glow to it. It didn't even look like blush all that much because it was so glowy and soft. I really love that about it cause I'm very pale right now but I know in the summer I'll be really dark (even though I cake on the sunscreen) and I can apply this wet and it will totally change the look and be darker and brighter as well.

This is swatched dry. 

This is swatched damp

The lighter side is gorgeous. I love it. It's like a soft baby pink with a gold sheen to it almost. When I seen it online at Sephora it looks so much darker and brighter I just knew it was gonna be something I couldn't wear until I had a tan somewhat. I'm happy to say that it's for both pale and darker girls. The darker color I swatched it dry and it still looks dark but I promise today I wore them layered and wasn't light handed and it was just so pretty. It also has a golden sheen as well. I've not applied them wet and wore them yet cause I think it'd be too bright for my liking right now. I'm completely sold on them though. They don't just have pink and peach shades either there's yellow golds, bronze shades, super light highlighter shades so on so forth so literally something for everyone.

This was $45 for 0.21oz at Sephora. Regular blushes from NARS in their regular formula are $30 for 0.16oz. Its pricey and it's the most I've ever paid for a blush I believe but because I get two shades and a really new and different formula Im happy to give it a shot.

I've been in hospital for the last 3 days. I've been sick for the past two weeks though so I've not done a lot of makeup looks and especially the last 3 days I've been kinda MIA on here. So while I was sick at home it was a good time to check all my emails and find out new things happening in the makeup world. I did a little shopping from all over not just one store and I got lots of fun new things to try. As always before you freak out, I know how to find a sale and get a good deal so don't read this and ponder on how much money I spent. It's not about that it's about the products themselves but trust me I didn't spend a ton of money. 

One (or two) thing I got was the new LA Splash Smitten Liptints liquid lipsticks. When I looked at these it freaked me out when it said Liptint. For one it didn't look like just a tint and also I didn't want anything sheer. What sold me though was that they were named after Harry Potter terms and characters. Although the ones I got didn't really remind me of Harry Potter still I'm super excited about them. These are about $12 as well. The Lip Coutures that I reviewed not long ago where the same price. So we're going to get into it but what's hilarious is that these swatches were done while I was in the hospital my husband was sweet enough to bring all my packages to the hospital so I could get my mind off being sick.

The colors I got were Hypnotized and Enchanted. I try to get colors I don't really have in that formula or any formula for that matter. Plus I get so tired of burgundy, mauve, neutral pinks, and nudes. Plus I'm loving all the liquid lipsticks that are out, I have over 10 from different brands. So like I said I've already reviewed the Lip Couture liquid lipsticks from LA Splash and really liked them for the most part. These are more thick and mousse like and the couture's are a bit more liquid. I find that the couture ones tend to crumble a little if you use too much and it's hard for the coverage to be even on the couture's.  Not the case with these. I truly think this might be their best formula. It has a slight "sterile" smell. It reminds me of hospital smells and such but that doesn't bother me.I didn't have to re-apply this to get better coverage I was able to use the wand to really sculpt it out and since it was a thicker formula it didn't get on the skin like a runny stain can if you're not careful. So i'm really pumped about these, they are so nice. Also I took a shower with the swatches still on my hand and they didn't move, then I tried to rub them and still it wouldn't move and didn't transfer to my fingers while I was trying to rub it off. It took an oil to get it off completely.

When I seen Hypnotized online with swatches and people wearing it, it looks like a neon orange. So I was all about it. I had absolutely NO ORANGE lipsticks. I have corals, pale coral, peachy colors so on so forth but nothing this bright. I was so excited then when I opened it, it looked red. I was slightly disappointed. When I applied it, it looked more orange however. Some would say this is totally a bright orange and I say it's a red-orange. Which I think was my favorite crayon when I was little come to think of it. So I'm pleased. Even if it had been straight up fire engine red I would've still liked it cause I don't have a bright bright red in liquid lipsticks.

This color was the reason I was placing an order. I just think this is the most beautiful spring/summer hot pink. It's so pretty. I'll swatch it next to Sweet Talker from Anastasia Beverly Hills when I get home to see if they're similar. I think this one is brighter though for sure. What I love about this formula and these colors is that a little product goes a long long way. I scrape most of the product off the wand into the tube when I use it so it doesn't build up and get crumbly or change texture.

These are super drying just as all liquid lipsticks I've tried. None the less I think they're great. They also just released Disney Princess's themed lip colors I'm not sure which line it is yet but I've seen some that I can't wait to try.