Tuesday, September 30, 2014

September Makeup Haul Part III

For the last part of the September Makeup Haul Part III

All the glory will go to:
RIMMEL LONDON ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eye Liner - Nude, $9.20 on Amazon


I recently have been searching to find a product to give me that soft glam look, and I came across some inspiration from instagrammer jasmine_hakobyan.



(Maybe should I say former instagrammer? I was unsuccessful in finding her profile again. Good thing I took a screenshot! Always take a screen shot when you see something inspirational!!!)

I usually use my white eyeliner by MAC  (Fascinating Eye Kohl, $16) for my waterline, in order to give me that fierce wide awake look, but I noticed that nude eyeliner also looks very natural and creates a softer glow.

Here is the swatch on my skin

and now on my face

Left: Nude          Right: White


Now with this Soft Glam Eyeliner, I see many Brunch Makeup Looks in my future! And yes, I will have a mimosa with this glam!


I can't wait to start creating all these new looks for the fall season, and stay tuned next month for the next haul!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Glammie Love,

Bex

September Makeup Haul Part II

Part II of the Haul consisted of buying some basic makeup products:
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils 601 Black Bean and 604 Milk, $4.50 each on their website
NYX Sharpener sold for $4.50 on their website and $4.00 on Amazon



The sharpener has 2 slots, one that can sharpen the jumbo eye pencils and the other slot for regular eyeliners or lip liners. If you use your jumbo eye pencils as a base coat and notice the tip is getting dull and that it's time to sharpen it, BEWARE...you may actually make it worse. Here's a nifty trick to make sure your jumbo pencils stay sharp.



This is a lovely 1:46 video by Youtuber Kendall Rae, showing the best way to sharpen these jumbo bad boys.




And here's the reason to get these NYX jumbo eye pencils pronto... 

THE RICH HUES



Let's start by looking at the bottom half of the swatches.  First, you see a normal eyeshadow swatch with no black base.  Above that, the next swatch is the rich black base by itself, and then above that, you can see the gorgeous royal purple hue it creates when combined together.

Now for the top half, you first see the copper-ish eyeshadow swatch with no white base.  Above that, we have the white base, and then at the very top, we have the eyeshadow and white base combined to make this amazing metallic rust color.

Now, if you're like me, you will wonder, with the same eyeshadow color, what color will come out when you use the black base and what color will come out when you use the white base. Well, see for yourself below.

Left: The Same Shadow with the Black Base        

Right: The Same Shadow with the White Base




If you don't have these 2 jumbo eyeliner pencils, I recommend you buy them A.S.A.P. and start having fun swatching your eyeshadow with them!

Please look out for the final part of the September Makeup Haul (Part III )to feature
Rimmel London ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eye Liner- Nude


Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Glammie Love,

Bex


Monday, September 29, 2014

September Makeup Haul Part I

The best part of internet shopping is that it feels like its Christmas time, no matter the season! You eagerly track your products to see when the goodies will be delivered to you door. Then, it happens... The sheer joy you receive when you see the cardboard box arrive and you rip it open to see all the cosmetics and brushes spill out onto your lap.

Part I of this Makeup haul will feature:
Sigma Tapered Highlighter Brush F35 sold for $24.00 on their website and $24.00 on Amazon
Anastasia Beverly Hills Build Your  Own: Contour Palette, $14.00 for individual pans, but highly recommended to bundle 6 pans for $40.00

Anastasia Beverly Hills: Build Your Own: Contour Palette + Sigma F35

Out of all my makeup haul goodies, these 2 products are what I was most excited about.

Back in August, I bought Becca: Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed- Moonstone, $38.00 as my new highlighter, since I wanted to try a powder highlighter to replace my highlighting creams, which I had been using. However, I was struggling to determine the best brush to use for my new powder highlighter. Borrowing my glam partner Jaz's Sigma Tapered  Highlighter F35 Brush cued a lightbulb going on and "angelic realization music" in my head (if you cant imagine it, listen to the first 4 seconds of The Simpsons Opening Scene). I mean, after all, Sigma is a name brand and used by professional makeup artists everywhere, so if you can't afford to buy the entire set, know which brush to splurge for, and this brush is definitely it! But if you're going to have a nice brush, you have to have options, and that is when I decided it was time for a customized contour palette.

The great thing is, if you're the type to feel overwhelmed by so many options, Anastasia makes preselected contour kits. On the other hand. if you're like me and you want to study your options and do some research, then this is an idea on how to go about doing it. I do not live anywhere near an Anastasia Beverly Hills Salon, so it took research and a leap of faith to select the right 6 pans.

Step 1: Find inspiration on Instagram, preferably with someone that appears to have similar skin tones, and of course take a screen shot! 



Thanks to Jayrozze24, this picture alone has made it so much easier for me to select the right pans: Champagne, Banana, Peaches & Cream, and Camel!  These checked off 4 out of the 6 shades I needed.

I still, however, had 2 more spots to fill. This involved more digging, since I was not one of the lucky people to have the contour book at my disposal.

Step 2: Google Search

Nothing like a quick Google search to answer your questions, or in this case feed my makeup addiction. One of the top few links took me to
http://www.lindastephanie.com/anastasia-contour-book-contour-kit-refills/


And here we can see has the picture of the pan, the pan name, and the description...PERFECT!
If you cannot read the print, I urge you to visit the site for an easier read.


                                         



After going back and forth for 30 minutes, and coming close to pulling out my hair (just kidding, I don't do that, its not good for your hair), I was able to pick out 2 more colors: Golden Peach and Clay. I wanted to have a shade that was for light to medium and another shade for medium to tan. I did this because, like most people, I know I get quite a bit darker in the summer and fall, and then I will get lighter during the winter and spring. 

Top Left to Right: Champagne, Banana, Golden Peach

Bottom Left to Right: Peaches & Cream, Camel, Clay


Swatches



Champagne is a highlighter, and if you would want more depth to it, I recommend putting champagne over Banana. As you can see, I have a huge chunk of Peaches & Cream on my arm, but it was because, when the flash was not on, it appeared to be identical to my skin, making it hard to see where I put the original swatch mark. This means that, when I start getting a bit paler, it will be a great skin tone color to set any creams I may be wearing. The same is true for Banana, which will be a lovely shade to set my concealer under my eyes. As for Camel, I love how it is a light contour. I will probably use this to enhance my nose. It will not be too abrasive like some makeup fails where your nose looks like a rectangle has been outlined on the middle of your face. Lastly, Clay will be perfect since it's dark enough to help enhance my cheeks. Deep colors and shades are definitely in style for fall!  

Stay Tuned for Part II and Part III of the September Makeup Haul.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Glammie Love,

Bex

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

One Palette, Five Looks with Urban Decay's Vice 3

Two weeks ago, we were just browsing our Instagram (follow us here!), and one of our favorite makeup brands teased a photo of their new palette: Urban Decay's Vice 3.  We instantly fell in love and began the countdown until it would be in our hands.  Well, the time has finally come... It's here!


Isn't it beautiful?!?
I would try to describe the palette for you, but why would I when the geniuses over at Urban Decay can do it so much better?
"With so many different finishes—matte, satin, sparkle and even metallic (to echo the iced-out metallic look of the palette itself), this palette is made for experimentation. The shades are arranged in columns: neutrals on the left, jewel tones in the middle and smoky shades on the right. Pair up the vertically color-coordinated quads or go wild and mix them up. Our Pigment Infusion System™ gives each shade its velvety texture, rich color, serious staying power and blendability."
Since you can use the palette in quads, I decided to not only swatch each color, but to create a look only using each quad.  So without further ado, here's One Palette, Five Looks! (I'm sorry about the lighting.  I'm still trying to figure out where I need to put myself when I take makeup selfies.)

Look 1: Everyday Neutral

I love a neutral eye for during the day.  Whether I'm going to work, meeting with a friend for lunch, shopping or even just running errands, this eye is my go-to when I want to look put together, but still natural.  The first four shades (Truth, Undone, Downfall and DTF) are perfect for any of these outings.  They were effortless to blend and not chalky at all, which can be a problem with matte shades.  They actually reminded me of the Naked Basics palette and that in itself is a huge compliment.

Truth on the lid and browbone, Undone as a transitional shade, Downfall as the crease color and DTF on the outer V
Look completed with Kat Von D Everlasting
Love Liquid Lipstick in Lolita

From left to right: Truth, Undone, Downfall, DTF






















Look 2: Bright and Tropical

This look, which featured Dragon, Freeze, Heroine and Brokedown, was a little unconventional for me since I rarely work with greens and blues.  However, in the interest of using every shade in the palette, I sucked it up and went for it, and I'm glad I did.  Since I decided to use only one quad per look, I didn't end up using a transitional shade, but I think my eye may have benefited from using one.  Thankfully, any of the browns used in Look One would've made a perfect transition.  As beautiful and pigmented as these colors were, they all had at least a slight shimmer, so I wouldn't normally use any for my crease, although I did in this case.  Brokedown was my absolute favorite out of the four... it's a little bit of gold, a little bit of khaki, a little bit of brown and a whole lot of awesome!

Brokedown on the lid, Freeze in the crease, Heroine in the outer V and Dragon on the lower lashline
From left to right: Dragon, Freeze, Heroine
and Brokedown
Look completed with Smashbox Be Legendary
Long Wear Lip Laquer in Off Duty






















Look 3: Fall Fabulous

Of all of the looks that I created, I think this one was my favorite.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that the thought of fall makes me giddy!  I feel like this quad (Vanity, Lucky, Reign and Bobby Dazzle) has everything that I want in a fall eye look: a great brown shade, a shimmery copper, an awesome highlight and a pop of color.  What else does a girl need?  

Lucky all over the lid, Reign in the outer crease, Bobby Dazzle on the browbone and inner corner and Vanity on the lower lashline
From left to right: Vanity, Lucky, Reign,
Bobby Dazzle

Look completed with Gerard Cosmetics lipgloss in
Cocoa Bean
























Look 4: Jewel Tone Goddess

I'm going to preface this by saying that this was my least favorite of all the looks that I created. These four colors (Alien, Alchemy, Bondage and Sonic) were automatically my favorites when I swatched them, but something got lost in translation when I put them on.  I'm mentioning this just because I don't want the look to shortchange these colors, which I think are absolutely gorgeous. Anyway, these beautiful jewel-toned reds, pinks and plums would be perfect for a fall-inspired nighttime look.  Despite the fact that I wasn't crazy about this particular look, Sonic is literally my favorite color in the entire palette.


Alchemy all over the lid, Alien in the inner corner, Bondage on the outer crease and Sonic on the lower lashline
Left to right: Alien, Alchemy, Bondage, Sonic
Look completed with Dior Addict Fluid Stick in
Trompre L'Oeil

Look 5: Club Glam

The last look used Last Sin, Angel, Defy and Revoler and is a blown-out smokey eye perfect for bringing a little bit of glam to a night out.  I loved the sparkle in Last Sin and Angel, but I wouldn't have complained if Revolver had been a bit darker.  I think it may have brought the smokiness to another level and made the look a little more dramatic.  Having said that, I still think that the look and the colors were beautiful.

Last Sin all over the lid, Angel in the upper crease, Defy in the lower crease and, to smoke out the lower lashline, Revolver on the outer lid and on the lashline
Left to right: Last Sin, Angel, Defy, Revolver
Look completed with Sephora Luster
Matte Long-Wear Lip Color in Deep Plum























Overall, I think that this is one of those palettes that can create any look you want, whether it be subtle and sweet or bold and daring.  It's a must-have for me!

I hope you enjoyed my take on the Vice 3 Palette!  How would you use it?

~Jaz

Pick up your own Vice 3 from Urban Decay or from Sephora.

All of the looks from this post were created with the following products:

Monday, September 8, 2014

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog!

We're a couple of friends that share a passion and, dare we say it, obsession with makeup, hair, and everything that relates to beauty. We've dedicated much of our time and (let's face it) money on this little hobby of ours, so we decided to share it with the masses (well... whoever stumbles across us anyway.)  Although we both have had long relationships with makeup throughout our lives, the rise of makeup artists on social media has only inspired us further. Without them, we wouldn't be nearly as knowledgeable about any of the lovely little products that make our insides sing! So, in order to give them credit, we will not only be creating our own tutorials and reviews, but we will also be linking our favorite Instagram and Youtube makeup looks and artists, as well as linking all of the products that they use to create their looks. Just call us the one stop shop for all of your makeup needs!

 Keep checking back with us as we build our blog and our product database, and please feel free to leave any feedback that you may have for us. We've never blogged before and would love to hear from the internet community!

 ~Jaz and Bex