Preparing for IMATS!

Hola!

So, being that IMATS is right around the corner (IMATS NY is being held April 10-12) I decided to dedicate a blog post with some tips. Last year was my first time attending IMATS, and it was such an overwhelming experience. Unfortunately I had to attend the event all by myself, I was nervous, and I didn't know what to expect!

1. Get familiar with the floor plan and exhibitor list- Go to the IMATS website and look at the floor plan and the vendors that will be there. This will help you plan out your day, and you'll know where everything is. This helped me out so much!

2. Make a list of the things you want to purchase- By looking at the exhibitor list, you'll know who's there, and making a list of the things you want from different booths is essential! Trust me, once you get there it will be pretty much chaotic, and you don't want to go home and realize you forgot to purchase something!

3. Wear comfortable shoes! I can't stress this enough. Of course you want to look as cute as possible, but make sure to wear comfy shoes! You WILL be on your feet all day. Unless you have no problem walking in heels all day and not feel the pain after a few hours of wear, then by all means - go ahead.

4. Make sure to get enough rest the night before- I didn't realize how draining IMATS can be, so make sure you get enough rest the night before.

5. Budget! Unless you've got an unlimited amour of money to spend, you may want to keep track of how much you want to spend. Bringing a certain amount of cash may help you with not overspending.

6. Eat breakfast before you go- You will be there for hours. Yes, there are food vendors there but from what I saw last year, the line to just get some food was ridiculous! Have a snack and a bottle of water with you, you will need it at some point during the day.

7. Have ALOT of patience- You might get pushed, shoved, stepped on, and on top of that you may be on a ridiculously long line, and may take you forever to get to purchase that item you wanted. Patience is key.

8. Pack light- You will most likely end up carrying quite a few bags by the end of the day, and carrying tons of extra things you don't need won't help. Carry only your essentials!

9. Bring your digital camera, cell phone and charger! You are going to want to take pictures throughout the day, especially if you are a blogger/ YouTuber. If you have extra batteries, even better.

You are there to shop, network, make new memories, meet your favorite makeup artist and YouTube beauty gurus. Remember to have fun in the middle of it all!

If any of you are attending IMATS on April 12th and would like to meet up, please let me know in the comments below or you can always contact me through through one of the social media links on the sidebar!

Collective Beauty Haul: Sephora, Drugstore- My First YouTube Video!

Hola everyone!

So I was about to start taking pictures for my new blog post (which is a collective beauty haul) but then it hit me - why don't I just film this?!

I have been thinking about doing YouTube for a while now, but I am very camera shy. The thought of stepping outside my little box and putting myself out there for the entire world to see is terrifying! At that moment I just said to myself 'If I never even try, how would I know if I really suck at this or not?!' If I fail, at least I know I tried, and I gave it my best.

I present to you my first YouTube video! Please let me know what you think of it, any suggestions, requests etc. I want to hear from you!

Colourpop Cosmetics Review & Swatches

Hello Dolls!

I have been seeing Colourpop all over social media for months, and finally decided to give in and see what all the hype was about - and I definitely see why everyone is in love!

Colourpop cosmetics is a company based in LA, making quality products at a price point everyone can afford. Like, seriously affordable. $5 for an eyeshadow and a lippie stix/pencil, $8 for a blush. You can easily go overboard picking stuff up at that price point. I limited myself to 5 eyeshadows and 2 lippie stix and it's matching lip pencil. Not too many things, but this won't be my last purchase!

The colors that I purchased as far as eyeshadows go are: So Quiche, Get Lucky, Amaze, Fringe, and I Heart This. They are all amazingly pigmented, just the right amount of glitter, and I didn't experience any fall out with any of the colors. The texture of these eyeshadows are unlike anything else I have in my collection. They feel slightly moist to the touch, and almost sponge like. Press your finger firm enough on the shadow, and it will leave a dent.

Top from left to right: So Quiche, Get Lucky, Amaze. Bottom: Fringe, I Heart This

Swatches from left to right: So Quiche, Get Lucky, Amaze, Fringe, I Heart This

The Lippie Stix I purchased were Lumiere, which is the color KathleenLights created. It is a matte finish, but it is not drying at all! The other shade I purchased is called Bound, and I got the matching lip pencil as well. As you will see in the swatch below, the lip pencil and the actual lipstick do not match AT ALL (the lip liner is way darker), but I promise they both work together perfectly. Bound has a glossy finish to it, but I do have to say, it does not last as long on my lips compared to Lumiere.

Left to right: Lumiere, Bound, Bound Lip Pencil

Overall I do recommend Colourpop to anyone that is interested. They offer a whole range of colors, they come out with different collections, and with it being so affordable it won't do much damage to your wallet! If you want to check them out yourself, you can visit them at colourpop.com

March 2015 Ipsy Glam Bag

Hello lovelies! 

Just got my glam bag for March, here's a look at what I got for this month. 

This month's theme is Floral Fantasy. The bag is eye catching, and gorgeous! Definitely screams spring.

Here's the breakdown of the products I received :

Pur-lisse Pur-delicate Gentle Soy Milk Cleanser - This is supposed to gently wash away makeup & dirt without stripping your face. I've honestly never tried any of their products, let's see how it goes! 

Boo-Boo Cover-Up Concealer - Not much information on the tube besides what I have pictured. It's pretty self explanatory - its a concealer. I swatched a bit of this and it's a tad bit light on me. I would have to use this as a highlighting concealer.

Dr. Brandt Pores No More Anti-Aging Mattifying Lotion- I have seen Dr. Brandt products sold at Sephora, so I was excited to see if received a little something from that brand in this bag. This stuff is anti-aging, which I'm all about right now.

Vintage by Jessica Liebeskind Illuminating Face Highlighter in Crystal Pink- SUCH a pretty highlight color! On the skin it translates to a frosty, glowy light pink.

NYX Butter Lipstick in Hunk- This lip color translates to more of a darker hot pink than purple on my lips, but that's okay. Still a gorgeous color! I love NYX Butter lipsticks, non drying and goes on smoothly. Just wish the color on the packaging wasn't so misleading.
Let's compare Glam Bags! What did you receive this month?

Gleam Body Radiance and Lip Radiance by Melanie Mills

Hello Dolls!

About 2 weeks ago, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, and came across a giveaway that Darlene aka @dollface_blondiie and celebrity makeup artist Melanie Mills @gleam_melaniemills were hosting. I have entered countless giveaways before (but have never won), so I figured why not?! This time around, I was the lucky winner!

If you don't know who Melanie Mills is, she is an Emmy Award winner makeup artist. She has worked on countless films/TV shows, but is most noted for her work as the head makeup artist for Dancing with the Stars. She came up with her own line of products called Gleam Body radiance.

I was lucky enough to receive a 2oz bottle of Gleam Body Radiance in Bronze Gold, and a Lip Radiance lip gloss in Nude. Body Radiance is available in 4 shades, and leave you skin looking glowy, with a hint of a tan, and also serves as coverup makeup. This would be amazing for the summertime! I haven't used it all over my body, but a little goes a long way on my face. I have used this under my foundation and I love the way it makes my skin glow. At first it is a little scary, since it goes on very shimmery but once blended out really well, you'll be ok. The Lip Radiance is the perfect nude shade- doesn't make me look washed out at all.

Body Radiance in Gold Bronze

Wearing the Lip Radiance in Nude and Bronze Gold Body Radiance underneath my foundation

Overall I'm really happy with the products, and a huge thank you once again to Melanie Mills and Darlene! For more information on her products, please visit gleambymelaniemills.com

L'Oreal Infallible Pro Matte Foundation Review

Hello loves!

So today I'm going to talk about the L'Oreal Infallible Pro Matte foundation. I'm all about a nice, glowy canvas, but there are times in which having a good matte (in this case demi-matte) foundation comes in handy.

Before I talk about the product itself, let me give you an idea of how my skin is. I have combination skin - oily t-zone, and during the wintertime I do tend to have dryer skin everywhere else on my face. I do not have acne prone skin, but when it's that time of the month I will have a blemish or two hanging out for a few days.

Knowing that this is a matte foundation, I make sure to moisturize and really give my skin a chance to soak it up, since matte formulas can accentuate any dry patches on your face. For the application of  this product I have used both the beauty blender and my buffing brush from Real Techniques, and they both work great, but of course for that extra flawless finish, I prefer to use my beauty blender.

The product itself is very lightweight - I was expecting it to be pretty thick, and having that feeling of actually wearing foundation on my face. Absolutely not the case with this! Coverage is great, and found that it covered everything with just one layer. As with any drugstore foundation, I was concerned about picking up a color that won't match me correctly. I chose to go with #106 Sun Beige and it is a great match to my skin color. I don't know what my MAC foundation number is- because I don't use MAC foundation, but for reference I use MUFE HD foundation in 153.

Wearing L'Oreal Infallible Pro Matte foundation in #106 Sun Beige

L'Oreal claims that the foundation wears for 24 hours. I mean, who the heck needs to wear foundation for that long?! I do however, have some long days and don't have time to remove my makeup, and start over when I go from work to a night out. The very first time I tried out the foundation, I applied it at around 10:30 AM, and didn't come off until I got home at around 2:30 AM. It held up incredibly well! It is also an oil control foundation, but I still expected my t-zone to get oily at some point - which it did, but it didn't disturb the foundation on my face too much (if that makes any sense). 

Cons? This foundation may not be suitable for dry skin. It will emphasize your dry patches and make you look cakey. If that doesn't stop you from wanting to try this foundation out, just make sure to exfoliate all that dead skin away, and make sure to moisturize really well before application.

Overall I would definitely recommend this foundation. It truly is matte, long lasting, makes my skin look amazing - without the heaviness! Excellent foundation to pick up when you are on a budget.

What are your thoughts on the L'Oreal Infallible Pro Matte foundation?

My First Client!

Hello beauties! It's been a little while- but trust me, I haven't abandoned the blog!

Anywho, I just wanted to share the little "makeover" I did on my first guinea pig this past week! LOL As you may or may not know, I have been slowly building my kit and finally have enough to actually start working on faces. A fellow friend needed makeup done for her graduation pictures and I happily obliged to do it. She wanted neutral eyes with a bold red lip, and decided not to apply any lashes - here are the final results...

What do you think? I was honestly very nervous to do her makeup, being that this was my first time doing a full face on someone else. Let me know what you think!