Wednesday, September 5, 2012

KC Fashion Week - Fall 2012

I've been off work for nearly a month now because of a back issue. I went to the doctor Tuesday, and he released me to go back to work next Monday. But I've been itching to get my hands on some hair... and I saw a posting that they were short of help for the Saks Fifth Ave - Off 5th show for the opening show. The posting said they needed hair and makeup artists. By the time I saw the posting all of the makeup positions were filled up but they still needed hair people. I decided this would be a dry run of how my back would do when I go back to work. I signed myself and a former student who recently graduated, Chris, up!





As any good hairdresser would do, I made sure to sanitize all my tools before heading out to an event. I always make sure to have extras of everything in case I drop something and more importantly so I'm not using the same comb on everyone (GROSS!).








I woke up earlier than usual this morning and thought that I would be ready to go... that didn't really work out so well. One of my besties, Kaitlyn, came over for coffee this morning and a haircut. We got sidetracked visiting and lost track of time. We did recover some time thanks to Kaitlyn helping me pack my bag, making me lunch, helping me pick an outfit, picking out accessories (while I did hair and makeup). Did I mention how awesome she is?? Well, she is. 

I made it out the door with 20 minutes to make it downtown and to the location. I made it but couldn't find parking!! I ended up circling the block a couple of times and pulled into a parking garage as a last resort (only ended up being $4!). I hoofed it down a couple of blocks to the location and began setting up, luckily the models weren't there yet! 

Chris and I got all set up and ready to go. We each had 5 heads to do, more if we had time or less if we didn't. The designer for the Saks show was amazing! She made sure that each model had a sheet they gave to the hair/makeup artist with the concept that she wanted, it was a great help!! 

The first model that sat down in my chair had very long, thick blonde hair. Her concept was hair down, loose/soft curls. This one took the longest to do!!

 
 (I think this is my favorite look)

The second model had long hair that was a little dry. Her concept was a soft slicked back ponytail with hair around the band. Pretty simple? Um, well her hair was thicker than I had thought!!

(Tried to incorporate the blonder section for visual interest in the wrap)

The third model had shorter hair, but I knew I was going to have to hit it with the flat iron (at least around the edges). Her concept was a big top knot. The hardest part was getting the underside of her to stay up because it was much shorter than the rest of her hair!

(I think she looked like a ballerina!)

The fourth model came in like an hour before the run-through, so we didn't have much time and she had to do makeup too! The makeup crew was nice enough to allow me to do her hair while they worked on her too. Anyhow, she had quite the mane that had some nice natural waves going on. Her concept was more edgy, funky, and my favorite... BIG! I was getting frustrated because I couldn't get any volume in the crown so I ended up pulling it up partially.

(Last minute creations are always so fun!)

Model five was actually one of Chris' girls, but he had to leave a little early. When he had done her hair earlier there wasn't much he could do because they didn't have the headband she was going to be wearing. Once the headband arrived I re-poofed her, flipped out the ends, and placed the headband. 

(Pretty cutesy)

I had a fabulous time with some pretty fabulous people. This was my second time participating in KC Fashion Week and as long as I'm here I plan to continue participating.
 Does your town have a fashion week??






Thursday, August 30, 2012

$20 Makeup Challenge

The buzz around the beauty community on YouTube is all about the $20 makeup challenge tag. It's a hypothetical experience that involves the airline losing your luggage, specifically the bag that contained your makeup. You only have a $20 budget to get a full face of makeup and any tools necessary. I've watched several of my favorite gurus do their version and was impressed with what they came up with. So I decided to take the challenge on myself... only I don't use a lot of drugstore makeup. Needless to say, this was definitely going to be a challenge for me!!

I headed out to Walgreens to look for a couple of Milani products that I had been wanting and decided that was the day to start the challenge. I was disappointed with Walgreens because they didn't carry Milani at that location or any of the locations in my county... so to Walmart I went. The first Walmart was beyond picked over and crazy busy. We (my youngest son & I) traipsed down a few more miles to another Walmart only to be disappointed again by the Milani display. We probably spent a good 20 minutes or so trying to come up with the right combination of products. This was the batch we ended up walking out with:

- e.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen (Black)
           $1.00
- NYC Smooth Skin Powder (702A Naturally Beige)
           $2.74
- wet'n'wild Shadow Trio (335 Silent Treatment)
           $2.93
- NYC City Duet 2in1 Lip Color (422 The Cherry Blossoms)
           $2.74
- Hard Candy Flat to Fab Mascara (Blackest Black)
           $7.00
- NYC Smooth Skin Liquid Makeup (677 Nude)
          $2.74

My total with tax was $20.65... so sue me I'm over a little.



I was pretty impressed with how far $20 would actually stretch... however I was a little nervous about how each of these products would work for me. I'm not one to back down from a challenge though!!

After we got home I hopped on YouTube to refresh my memory of some of the other looks people came up with. That's when I started to doubt some of the purchases I had made... someone else had already used the wet'n'wild trio that I had picked up, I wasn't crazy about a lipstick that had 1 color on each side, and the powder puff in the compact was not so great... So I rifled through my collection and found a few substitute products. Here's what the final combination ended up being:
- e.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen (Black)
           $1.00
- e.l.f. Hypershine Lipgloss (Berry Cherry)
          $1.00
- Hard Candy Flat to Fab Mascara (Blackest Black)
          $7.00
- NYC Smooth Skin Liquid Makeup (677 Nude)
          $2.74
- e.l.f. Tone Correcting Concealer (Light Beige)
          $1.00
- NYC Ultra Moist Lip Wear (316 Blossom)
          $0.97
- wet'n'wild Shadow Trio (330B Walking on Eggshells)
          $2.93

My total with tax ends up being $19.36. 

I could deal with that! So I went to work filming and editing the video (I'm post it at the end of this blog).  It has now been 10 hours since I applied said products and I think that's enough time to give a fair assessment.


Completed look immediately after application



                             10 hours later...















So, as you can see my skin is seriously shiny... but wait until you see this:

 
 


Clearly this isn't working for me... 

The shadows creased like crazy.
My lashes feel crunchy.
My skin is itchy and oily.




 I'm not counting each of these products out yet, but some I know for sure I won't be using again! I know for sure I won't be using that foundation ever again... I couldn't even get it out of the bottle without using a q-tip, even after shaking it and pounding it on my hand a dozen times. My skin feels just flat gross. Keep in mind that I have oily skin to begin with, so it may work for you. The concealer didn't really do it's job either, not as a concealer or a primer. The powder I may give another shot or two, it's supposed to be clarifying which typically helps with oil. Oh mascara... if you know me at all, you know that I typically wear false lashes. I don't like crispy lashes, bottom line. Lipstick/lip gloss, I'm pretty easy on them. I have 4 or 5 in my purse, I change my mind too often to really give a fair assessment of any lip product. Shadows... I'm anxious to actually try them with a good primer. I'll let you know how that goes. Now let me tell you about this little eyeliner marker business. I was not happy with this guy at all! The product didn't come out as dark or as fluid as I had hoped. I had to reapply it several times to get the darkness I wanted. I'm a liquid or gel liner kind of girl, so I like dark and fast... this however didn't do either.

I did enjoy trying to stretch that $20, maybe I'll try other combinations and see how they work out.



I do have to admit that it did look pretty darn good at first (except for the brows!).


Well enough will all this jibber-jabber, go enjoy the video!!





Love & Lashes
XO


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Olive Smokey Eyes - Inspired by EmilyNoel83

I'm an avid watcher of many makeup gurus on YouTube, but I always love when I see a new post from EmilyNoel83 (you may know her as Beauty Broadcast). I love how she mixes high end with drug store items, something I find myself doing on most occasions. Anyhow, her most recent haul (Walgreens HAULgreens! (Makeup)) she picked up some limited edition items from Maybelline that I just absolutely had to have! I'll be the first to admit that I'm kind of a makeup snob, so Maybelline isn't one I typically reach for... but I have been pleasantly surprised this time! After running out to Walgreens (while heavily medicated and unable to walk without assistance, mind you) I finally got the items: 2 color tattoos and 2 eyestudio quads (they were buy 1 get 1 50% off!).




Top Left: Maybelline Color Tattoo in 200 Mossy Green
                         
Top Right: Maybelline Color Tattoo in 100 Barely Beige
                         
Top Quad: Maybelline EyeStudio in 400 Olive Martini

Bottom Quad: Maybelline EyeStudio in 200 Smokey             
                                     Cinnamon





Top 4 Vertical Swatches: Smokey Cinnamon

Bottom 4 Vertical Swatches: Olive Martini

2 Horizontal Swatches: Color Tattoos

(I went outside to show true color in natural light.)





Emily's eye look in that video was so pretty that I was anxious to recreate it myself, but much to my excitement... Emily posted a how to video for Deep Olive Eyes! (Drugstore)!!! So I watched her video a handful of times and decided today was the day I would attempt it. So here's my look:


I kind of added a few extra things, but it's basically the same look. Here's a look at everything I used:


Brushes are from various places: Sephora, Crown, MAC, Sonia Kashuk, and e.lf.

If you're interested in a specific brush, let me know and I'll give you details.







I used a wide variety of brands when it came to this look... this is every makeup product that I put on my face! I know it's a ton of stuff, I surprised myself.

If you're curious as to what a product is, just ask!

Here's my complete look!

If you're interested in learning this look or watching the video I watched, check out Emily on YouTube:



Love & Lashes
XO


Sunday, February 19, 2012

Valentine's MAC Haul

Valentine's day has come and gone for 2012! This year I asked for MAC makeup and boy did I get it!!! I got to go pick out a ton of stuff on Saturday, my husband loves me ha-ha. Here's what I got:


Face: Pro Longwear Foundation in NW20
          Fix+ Skin Refresher/Finishing Mist
          Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in LIGHT
          Pressed Blot Powder in MEDIUM


Cheek: Sheertone Blush in COYGIRL


Eyes: Opulash Mascara in OPTIMUM BLACK
          Paint Pot in PAINTERLY
          Fluidline Eyeliner in BLACKTRACK
          Pressed Eye Shadow in SATIN TAUPE
          Quad Shadow Palette in SHOP&DROP
          Quad Shadow Palette in CALL ME BUBBLES

Fragrance: Turquatic

Brushes: 224 Tapered Blending
               275 Angled Shader
               209 Eyeliner










I'm totally obsessed now!!

 I got a couple different foundation samples from the Nordstrom counter before I went to the MAC store on Saturday. I was a little worried because I have oily skin and the first couple days I had to blot my skin around noon... but not anymore! The combination of the blot powder and the FIX+ make my skin look amazing! Of course it's only been a couple of days, so I'll give you a full review in a few weeks.

Shadows: I've used the SATIN TAUPE the most, and basically as an all over color. I've been using the paint pot as a base instead of a primer and so far it's awesome. The picture of the quads don't really do them justice, they're far prettier than pictured.

The Gaga lip products I bought on Tuesday night because I knew the new Nicki Minaj/Ricky Martin stuff was coming out that weekend. If you like nude lips than you'll really like the Gaga stuff. I love the texture and smoothness of both.


I'm in love with the perfume!!! I typically wear Betsey Johnson, and this is a nice change up! It's such a fresh smell!!


I fully intend to make another trip down to the MAC store or order online this week!! Did I mention I'm obsessed now?


LOVE & LASHES!!! XO