Answers & Info Corner

Alright, I was excited to see a question in my Comments section! My cute cousin in law, Jaime asked: "I have a problem with my foundation settling in the creases under my eyes. (I use bare minerals foundation. ) What can I do get to the "airbrushed" makeup effect? Thanks!" Well Jaime, you (and any other readers out there) ask & you shall receive. I am going to do an 'Answer & Info Corner' post every now & again. So send in your questions. Here is my answer to Jaime's question: I have found that a good daytime eye cream is a good solution. This one from MAC has caffeine & cucumber extracts in it & so it temporarily plumps up the skin, therefore, allowing the products that you apply afterwards (concealer, foundation) to go on smoother. It gives you more of an airbrushed affect & is treating the eye area at the same time. Another 'tip' that I like with this product is to take it with you throughout the day (like you would a lip gloss) & at any time (which should only be 1-2 times the rest of the day-MAX) you feel like you need a lil' touch up, just dab a little around your eyes. No need to add any more make-up over it, this will revitalize the make-up that you already have on, but keeps giving you that smooth affect you are after! And a little goes a long way with this eye cream.

MAC Fast Response Eye Cream

Nordstrom or maccosmetics.com for $30

Now, for some info that I thought I would pass along. Nordstrom is having their Anniversary Sale coming up in July, and what that means for you is that they have a lot of 'Beauty Exclusives' at a great price. You can pre-order right now online or even in stores (and most times, when you do a pre-order in store, they will give you some sort of BONUS present with your purchase, so be sure to ask them exactly what promo's they have going for the different products you want to buy!).

So, my two top picks are: First, the MAC Brush Set's are a sweet value (and are only sold at Anniversary & Holiday). It's a $125 value & is being sold as a set for $49.50! Literally, the blender brush alone (the one on the right) sells for $48 on it's own regularly & is by far my favorite brush- EVER! The blender brush can be used for foundation, bronzer, shimmer powder & blotting powder & is super soft! And this kit also comes with a liquid foundation brush, a blush brush & concealer brush. Just be sure to cleanse them regularly. My fave way to keep my brushes sanitary & nice & soft is clean them once a week (okay, sometimes once every 2 weeks, but whatev's) in luke warm water & baby shampoo (it's more gentle than regular). Air dry them on your counter over night & they will last & last. You will get such a better finish to your make-up when you apply it with good brushes. And MAC really makes some of the best out there. No Joke!

MAC 'Apply & Blend' Face Brushes

Nordstrom or nordstom.com $49.50

My 2nd pick is Philosophy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser in the Jumbo 32 oz size. Again a great value only offered twice a year. A $64 value sold for $42.50. This is my face wash that I swear by! Cleanses soooo well & doesn't leave your face feeling "tight & itchy" like some cleansers. Is great for ALL skin types. I have been using this product (& their whole skin care line actually) for over 6 years now & would never dream of switching. It has made THAT BIG of a difference to my skin. And this HUGE tub-o-goodness will last you a loooooong time! Fabu!

Philosophy Purity Made Simple 32 oz

Nordstrom & nordstrom.com $42.50

So, there you have it. Please keep those questions a coming! Loves.

Glow On

One of my favorite things to do to make your look go from good to YAWZA!!! is to add some shimmer powder. You need to strategically place it so that you don't end up looking greasy, you just look like you have this GLOW about you. So, take a powder brush & lightly brush it along the tops of your cheekbones, down the bridge of your nose, you can even take some & put it on your declote- especially focusing on your collar bones. Just a hint of shimmer there is uber sexy (perfect for a hot date with the huzzy). You can also take a smaller eyeshadow brush & use this to make your eyes sparkle, just add some to the inner corners of your eyes (right by the tear ducts). And add a little under AND over your eyebrow arch, to make it look more lifted. Use the same eyeshadow brush & add a teeny tiny bit right above & below the "pucker" part of your lips, that's right... your lips! It will make them look poutier.

Here are two of my picks:

MAC Irredescent Powder/Pressed in 'Belightful'

maccosmetics.com $22

And now "The Look for Less" version:

Wet n Wild Mega Glo in 'Starlight Bronze"
Walmart $3.50

*Since the Wet n Wild version is multi colored, make sure to use the lightest color (on the left) when you are illuminating your inner eye, eyebrow & lip pucker. Then feel free to swirl your powder brush over all of the colors to highlight the cheeckbones, nose & collar bone.

If you have never tried this trick...go for it! You will LOVE it! So pretty. It brings that extra somethin somethin to your face. GLOW ON!

Cheek Tint/Stain

My first official PRODUCT REVIEW! I am so excited!!! I decided to go with the cheek stain, I think it's just such a fresh take on blush and perfect for the hot humid summer months. I also think that a hint of blush on the cheeks brings a look of vibrancy & health to the face better than any other make up product. The cheek stain/tint's that I like the most are the kind that are gel based & then just dry down to a really pretty finish on the skin. They are also a great layering piece, if you start out with the stain & then do a little hit of powder blush on top, well there will be no stopping you & your hotness!!! They may look a little scary bright when you see them in the tube, but put them on & you will just get a nice sheer wash of color, that is build able, so add more if you'd like. I like to just tap it on my cheekbones straight from the stick & then blend it with my fingertips. Can't get much easier than that! And one of my favorite "tricks" is to buy a bright blush, so that it almost does look a wee bit scary to you, but then just do, like I said, a sheer application of it. It ends up looking so much better & actually more natural. So, I have chosen two of my faves to share with you. The first is the image that you see at the top, it's the limited edition NARS Multiple Tint. It comes in 3 shades: 'Cadaques'(a bright fuchsia, shown), 'Beverly Hills'(bright red), and 'Turks & Caicos'(bright orange). It's called a "Multiple" because it has 3 uses, you can actually use it on your cheeks, lips & eyes. I've tried it on my lips & cheeks (of course), but haven't yet tried out the eyes, to me it just seems like it would crease in an instant on my eyes. Gives a pretty 'my lips, but better' look to your lips, so that's a nice little side bonus of the product. All three shades are very wearable and flattering, but my personal fave is the 'Cadaques'. Available at Nordstrom & Sephora.com (online only @ Sephora, not available in their retail stores.) for $38 each.

So, now I am going to give you "The Look For Less", which I will try to do with all products, cause, hello!!! Who isn't on a budget these days? And plus, it's good to have options. So, the next cheek stain under review is actually sold in a set. And it is a pretty amazing value! It's valued at $179 (if you were to purchase the items separately) & then the regular price is $59 for the kit, but they have it marked down to $39(pictured above). It is sold exclusively at Sephora (in stores & online) & I believe that once this kit is gone, it is GONE. It is packaged as Lab Samples, which basically just means that it doesn't have the pretty packaging yet. So, you are basically getting some of their newest ideas in make-up & at a great price. I really like the cheek stain in this kit as well. It looks more like a deeper purple in it's tube, but goes on sheer. It has the same gel texture that I like. And, by the way, these stains will last you a long time, because a little goes a long way. Less is more with this product. And then, almost like a bonus, you get 5 other full sized products in this kit. The kit also includes: Waterproof Eye Shadow Palette (w/ 5 easy to wear colors), Brow Wax Pencil, Lash Detailer Mascara, Poured Photo Op (a skin brightener of sorts), O-Gloss Shimmer. And like the kit says, there is a lot of 'Beauty Breakthroughs' in this kit. If you want to read more about the different products that are offered in this kit, just go to Sephora.com (I have a link to their website on my sidebar, right). I could go on & on about some of the other items you receive, but I am just going to focus on the cheek stain for now. The other thing I like about this, is it is done by Smashbox, which is a very well respected high end beauty brand. So don't let the price tag fool you. Smashbox 'Master's Class Beauty Breakthroughs', $39 for the kit at Sephora.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, suggestions for topics, etc, please feel free to leave them in the comment section! Keep Glowing!

BEAUTY BLOG

So, I am starting a 'Beauty Blog', which I am quite excited about! As most of you know & for those of you that maybe don't, I am a Product Junkie. I love playing in Make-up & always have since I can remember. I decided to go & try to be a make-up artist for one of my favorite lines: MAC. I went in with my "model for the day", my sis in law Natelli and they watched as I did a "Day Look" & then an "Evening Look". And I have been freelancing with them for about 5 years now. I also do some freelance work on my own as well with my own make-up kit. So, this may be random, but I have a lot of people asking me for different tips when it comes to cosmetics & skin care etc... so, I thought, what the hayzezee, I'll start a beauty blog. Fill it up with some of my best tricks, product reviews & maybe even a picture or two of clients that I have 'dolled up'. So lets do this ish, and I would love any feedback. This is all just in good old fashioned fun, cause after all, it's NOT SERIOUS....IT'S MAKE-UP!!!